# Joseph Tawadros

Joseph Tawadros AM (born 6 October 1983) is an Egyptian-born Coptic Australian multi-instrumentalist and oud virtuoso. Tawadros has won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album seven times: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

## Biography

Tawadros' family emigrated from Egypt to Australia when he was three. Initially attracted to the trumpet, he decided to learn the oud when he was eight, after seeing a movie about Egyptian musician Sayed Darwish. Elected School Captain at Randwick Boys High School, where he was taught by Derek Williams. Tawadros is classically trained, having completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of New South Wales, where he was awarded a Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music. His brother James Tawadros is also a musician. In the 2000s, Tawadros also studied in Egypt with violin player Esawi Dagher, son of the renowned violin player Abdo Dagher. During the years that followed, Tawadros spent three months a year in Egypt and learned to play other instruments: the bamboo flute nay, the Arabic zither qanun and the cello.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012, Tawadros won Best World Music Album for Concerto of the Greater Sea (February 2012). He won the same category in 2013 for Chameleons of the White Shadow (February 2013), 2014 for Permission to Evaporate (May 2014) and 2020 for Live at the Sydney Opera House (June 2020). He also won Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album in 2017 for Ali's Wedding (September 2017).

## Style

Joseph Tawadros' style is described as eclectic. According to Sydney Morning Herald, "he has taken the oud out of its traditional Middle Eastern setting and into the realm of classical music and jazz". "I don't like to play in a particular genre, I love all sorts of music", Tawadros explains, "I try to record an album a year and one that's totally different from the previous album". He has collaborated with musicians such as John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette, Roy Ayers, Bela Fleck, Joey DeFrancesco, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and The Academy of Ancient Music.
Tawadros plays 52 instruments on his albums including oud, qanun, saz, violin, ney, Portuguese guitar, electric bass, kalimba and accordion. His brother James uses 11 percussion instruments.

## Discography
### Albums

List of albums with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Storyteller | Released: 2004 Label: Versilia (VACD 104.2) Format: CD |
| Rouhani (With Bobby Singh) | Released: 2005 Label: ABC Classics (4768078) Format: CD |
| Visions (With James Tawadros) | Released: February 2006 Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2005) Format: CD, DD |
| Epiphany (With James Tawadros and Ben Rodgers) | Released: March 2007 Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2007) Format: CD, DD Live album |
| Angel (With James Tawadros and Dimitri Vouros) | Released: December 2008 Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2008) Format: CD, DD |
| The Prophet | Released: March 2009 Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2009) Format: CD, DD Note: Poems selected from The Prophet written in 1923 by poet Kahlil Gibran |
| The Hour of Separation | Released: June 2010 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD |
| Band of Brothers (with Slava & Leonard Grigoryan and James Tawadros) | Released: March 2011 Label: ABC Classics (4764316) Format: CD, DD |
| Concerto of the Greater Sea | Released: February 2012 Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2012) Format: CD, DD |
| Chameleons of the White Shadow | Released: February 2013 Label: ABC Classics (4810119) Format: CD, DD |
| Permission to Evaporate | Released: May 2014 Label: ABC Classics Format: CD, DD |
| Truth Seekers Lovers and Warriors | Released: April 2015 Label: ABC Classics (4811632) Format: CD, DD |
| World Music | Released: March 2016 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD |
| Live at Abbey Road (with James Tawadros) | Released: July 2017 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD Live album |
| Ali's Wedding (with Nigel Westlake, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Slava Grigoryan and Lior) | Released: September 2017 Label: ABC Classics Format: CD, DD Soundtrack album |
| The Bluebird, the Mystic and the Fool | Released: April 2018 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD |
| Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower | Released: June 2019 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD |
| Live at the Sydney Opera House (with James Tawadros, Benjamin Northey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) | Released: 12 June 2020 Label: ABC Music Format: CD, DD, streaming Live album |
| Hope in an Empty City | Released: 9 June 2021 Label: ABC Music Format: CD, DD, streaming |
| History Has a Heartbeat | Released: 19 August 2022 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD, streaming |
| Those Who Came Before Us | Released: 14 July 2023 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD, streaming |
| The Virtue of Signals | Released: 28 June 2024 Label: Joseph Tawadros Format: CD, DD, streaming |

## Awards and recognition

Tawadros was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2016 Australia Day Honours.

### AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2014 | Permission to Evaporate | Best Independent Jazz Album Album | Nominated |
| 2018 | Live at Abbey Road | Best Independent Jazz Album Album | Nominated |
| 2020 | Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower | Best Independent Classical Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | Live at the Sydney Opera House (with James Tawadros, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Benjamin Northley) | Best Independent Classical Album or EP | Won |
| 2022 | Hope in an Empty City | Best Independent Jazz Album or EP | Nominated |

### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Tawadros has won seven awards from nineteen nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2004 | Storyteller | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2006 | Visions (with James Tawadros) | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2007 | Epiphany | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2008 | Angel | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2010 | The Prophet | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2010 | The Hours of Separation | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2011 | Band of Brothers (with Slava & Leonard Grigoryan & James Tawadros) | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2012 | Concerto of the Greater Sea | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2013 | Chameleons of the White Shadow | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2014 | Permission to Evaporate | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2015 | Truth Seekers, Lovers and Warriors | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2016 | World Music | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2017 | Live at Abbey Road | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2017 | Ali's Wedding (with Nigel Westlake, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Slava Grigoryan & Lior) | Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album | Won |
| 2018 | The Bluebird, The Mystic and the Fool | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2019 | Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower | Best World Music Album | Nominated |
| 2020 | Live at the Sydney Opera House | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2021 | Hope in an Empty City | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2022 | History Has a Heartbeat (with William Barton) | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2023 | Those Who Came Before Us | Best World Music Album | Won |
| 2024 | The Virtue of Signals | Best World Music Album | Nominated |