Our Team
Board of Directors
Firas Daaboul was born in Lebanon, where his love for Arabic and Levantine music and folklore was deeply rooted in his upbringing. He studied Biology, Philosophy, and Mathematics at the American University of Beirut before moving to the U.S. in 2001 to pursue a PhD in Applied Mathematics. Now working as a product manager, Firas remains deeply connected to his cultural heritage and passion for Arabic music. Inspired by the Brooklyn Maqam (BM) community, which he has avidly supported since its inception, Firas began learning the oud in 2023. He is excited to join BM’s board of directors, where he looks forward to applying his skills and passion to support BM’s mission and vibrant community.
John Murchison is a multi-instrumentalist, performing frequently on bass, qanun, and oud. He became involved in Arabic music after a tour to Morocco in 2013, and his intense dedication to and immersion in the tradition quickly led to his becoming one of the most in-demand bassists for Arabic music in the United States.
Marandi Hostetter is a violinist and violist, and has been involved with Arabic music since 2011, performing with numerous groups in NYC and beyond. She came to the Arabic music community through her work with Bassam Saba and the New York Arabic Orchestra, and has since frequently performed with Michael Ibrahim and the National Arabic Orchestra, The Bil Afrah Project featuring Michel Merhej, Sharq Attack, and many other groups.
Brian Prunka is an oud player, guitarist and composer. When he met oudist Simon Shaheen in 2001, it profoundly changed the course of his life—the guidance and encouragement of Shaheen and other mentors led him to immerse himself more deeply into Arabic music, instilling a profound respect for the tradition. He has since gone on to play an active role in New York’s Arabic music scene, performing with traditional artists including Simon Shaheen, Zikrayat and Takht al-Nagham as well as his own maqam-inspired ensembles.
Advisory Panel
Born in South Carolina, Ameer Armaly was exposed to the oud and Arabic music in general from an early age through his uncle who played the oud. He went on to study under Simon and Najib Shaheen. Ameer performs as an instrumentalist with a variety of artists and leads an Arabic music ensemble which performs regularly around the New York area, cultivating local talent and reviving the great Arabic instrumental and vocal music of the twentieth century.
Johnny Farraj is a Lebanese-born musician and software engineer of Palestinian descent. His main instrument is the riqq; he also plays the 'ud and sings. Farraj is the creator of the Maqam World website, the leading Internet reference on Arabic music theory, and is a frequent Arabic music blogger, teacher and performer, as well as a lifelong listener. He is co-author of the acclaimed book Inside Arabic Music (Oxford University Press 2019).
Shayma Aziz is a visual artist, whose work combines traditional fine arts technicality with new media practices, focussing particularly on painting, sculpture, interdisciplinary projects and animation. Born in Asyut, Egypt, Aziz obtained her BFA in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Luxor, where she investigated representational formats in ancient Egyptian art. Later she moved to Cairo and became actively engaged in its growing art scene for seventeen years. She received several production and residency grants, including Al Mawred Al Thaqafi’s Production Grant, Centre d’Arte i Natura’s residency program (2010), L’officina Marseille (2011), Siwa Studios residency (2013) and 3rd place prize at Caravan’s Global Mosaic exhibition (2019). She moved to New York in the spring of 2019, where she is currently based.