Farida Mohammad Ali


Farida Mohammad Ali is an Iraqi singer known for her mastery of the Iraqi maqam and Arabic maqam styles. Since leaving Iraq in 1997, she lives in the Netherlands and performs Iraqi maqam with the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble.

Early life

Farida Mohammad Ali was born in Kerbala, Iraq, in 1963.
She graduated from the Musical Institute & Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied under oud master Munir Bashir. It was Bashir who encouraged her to perform classical Iraqi maqam, although women were generally discouraged from such study. She has also studied with Sha Ubi Ibrahim, Hussein Al-Athami, and Mohammad Gomar, and has had extensive training in both Iraqi and Arabic maqam.

Career

Ali became the first female teacher of classical Iraqi Maqam, and taught singing at the Baghdad Conservatory.
From 1986 until 1989, she was a member of the Iraqi Musical Heritage Group, and became a member of the Iraqi Artists Union in 1987.
She left Iraq in 1997. She married Mohammad Gomar, player of the djozza, and was living in the Netherlands.
She performs regularly in the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble. The ensemble was established in 1989 in Baghdad by Mohammad H.Gomar to continue the 1973 ensemble organized by the prominent oud teacher Munir Bashir. All members completed their studies at the Musical Institute & Academy of Fine Arts in Iraq.
She performed in International Mystic Music Sufi Festival in Karachi, Pakistan in 2007.

Recognition

Ali is the recipient of many honours, including:

In film

Ali appears in the 2015 documentary film On the Banks of the Tigris, by filmmaker Marsha Emerman and Iraqi-Australian writer and actor Majid Shokor. The film was awarded Best Documentary Film at the Baghdad International Film Festival that year.

Discography

All credited as "Farida and the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble"Classical Music of Iraq
  • Iraqi Mawal & maqam
  • Departure
  • Tradition
  • Voice of Mesopotamia
  • Baghdad Eternity
  • ''Ishraqaat''