Iraqi maestro Alaa Majid, who performed on four continents, dies

PARIS, France — Alaa Majid, an Iraqi maestro who performed on four continents, died at an unannounced age. He was born in 1960 in Amarah and later moved to Baghdad, where he studied the ney at the Institute of Music Studies. From 1977 to 1983, Majid served in the National Folk Arts Orchestra before working with the Iraq Heritage Group. He later conducted the orchestra of the “Young Voices” program under the supervision of the late Farouk Hilal. Throughout his career, he represented Iraq at festivals in Babylon, Jerash and Paris. He established Dicle Birds in Sweden and the Sumeriyat Women’s Ensemble in London under the Arab Music Academy’s Arab Heritage Orchestra, working with more than 60 artists. After a 21-year absence, he returned to Baghdad and founded the National Iraqi Music Heritage Orchestra, teaching maqam, muwashshah and traditional pieces to new generations. Majid contributed to the development of vocalists including Karrar Nuri, Hussein Jabbar and Zamin Yas Hadr. He received the Best Young Musician award and the Order of Creativity in 1986, and the Iraqi Civil Servants Distinguished Service Award in 2024.