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A Violinist Born Out of the Tigris: Layth Sidiq

Nathalie Botbol

Layth Sidiq, a musician born in Baghdad and raised in Jordan, has a story to tell. He's a "Son of Tigris," as he tells it, yet he was schooled in the United Kingdom and United States. Through his travels he has soaked up an abundance of sounds, from Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum to Johannes Sebastian Bach to American jazz, his newfound love. 

In this podcast, Sidiq says it's the combination of these musical influences that gives him a unique voice urgently needed in the world today — a voice that can bridge two worlds together and also serve as a mouthpiece for change for his Iraqi people.

At only 24 years old, he's already the Director of the Tufts Arab Music Ensemble, and has written this impressive suite of music, Son of Tigris, featuring musicians from The Berklee Global Jazz Institute.

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.

Assistant Producer: Ishmael Martinez

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For more than 15 years, Simon Rentner has worked as a host, producer, broadcaster, web journalist, and music presenter in New York City. His career gives him the opportunity to cover a wide spectrum of topics including, history, culture, and, most importantly, his true passion of music from faraway places such as Europe, South America, and Africa.