Maya Youssef: Finding Home

Hailed as ‘The queen of the qanun’, Maya Youssef is a globally renowned and award-winning qanun player and composer from Syria.

Born in Damascus, as a result of the war in her home country Maya arrived in the UK in 2012 under the UK Government’s Tier 1 visa scheme, endorsed by Arts Council England as an Exceptional Talent.

Since then, Maya has pushed the boundaries of the qanun (a 78 stringed plucked zither traditionally played by men) and has performed at the South Bank, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, The
Barbican, Shakespeare’s Globe and WOMAD Festival, and around the world.