Faisal is an Arabic percussionist, an Arabic drummer, and drum teacher. Born in Beirut, Lebanon and raised in Oum Dbaib, Syria, Faisal plays Derbakki, Riqq, and frame drums from Arabic and Middle Eastern music genres. He teaches Arabic drumming traditions focused in Syria and Egypt. He has been teaching and performing a wide range of Arabic, Middle eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European music. He has been residing in California since 1991. Upon arrival in California, Faisal met UCLA’s noted professor of Ethnomusicology, Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, and was then invited to join the acclaimed UCLA Near East Music Ensemble. Faisal was a founding member of the Near East music group, Kan Zaman.
In addition to Arabic music, Faisal also devoted many years to studying Turkish, Armenian, Persian, Afghan and he studied Balkan and Greek music. Faisal has been teaching at Music Camps and conducting workshops in the United states and abroad since 1996. Faisal has been on staff at the Mendocino Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in Mendocino California since 2011, and Bahar Bayram music camp in Brisbane, Australia.