"When I first met the oud in 1977 through our music teacher in Kut, I felt that this was the thing I had been looking for. As soon as I saw the oud, I knew my destiny.'"

These are the words of master musician Naseer Shamma whose brilliant concert at the Cultural Foundation proved yet again his dexterity and expertise, his flair and total mastery of the instrument. His compositions are unique and his performance combines the ancient methods with the new and the daring.

In ancient times, the oud was played with the fingers rather than with the modern plectrum. The revival of this finger-playing technique makes Shamma's art outstandingly unique and popular in the Arab world. Shamma is the only modern composer and musician to have constructed an eight-stringed oud. This new design expanded the musical range of the instrument and gave it distinct tonality.

He has also devised a new method of playing using only one hand. This allows handicapped people to also enjoy the instrument. Equally exciting is Shamma's technique of producing amazing sounds of bird calls, sirens and bombs which give a new dimension to the musical interpretations of his impressions of the world.

Naseer Shamma has come a long way from his first solo performance in 1985. With prestigious concerts all over the world, he is now based in Egypt at the Cairo Opera. A recipient of innumerable awards, medals and titles, Shamma was recently honoured with the Royal Academy Award from Great Britain.

Experimenting with the new, the daring and the unique in music, Naseer Shamma is definitely a phenomenon in the Arab world.