Joseph Tawadros

Joseph Tawadros AM is a leading Oud virtuoso, composer, 8-time ARIA-award winner and AIR Award winner, born in Cairo, raised in Sydney and now based in London. His instrument is the Oud, an Arabic lute, the ancestor of the lute and modern guitar.

A virtuoso of diversity and sensitivity, Joseph performs in concert halls worldwide, known for his brilliant technique, deep musicianship, storytelling and joyous style of performance. Joseph's drive to push musical boundaries has inspired collaborations with diverse performers and a solid repertoire of innovative, original music. He performs live as a soloist, in duo with his brother James on Egyptian percussion, with his jazz quartet, and with chamber and symphony orchestras all over the world.

Joseph has performed his own works with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne, West Australian and Adelaide Symphony, The Brodsky Quartet, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Camerata Salzburg, the Morphing Chamber Orchestra and the Britten Symphonia. His Concerto for Oud & Orchestra with the Sydney Symphony was performed and released by ABC Classics, Australia in 2019. He is the only Australian composer to be performed by the Academy of Ancient Music in the United Kingdom.

He has recorded his music with many jazz luminaries such as John Abercrombie, Jack de Johnette, Roy Ayers, John Patitucci, Bela Fleck, Mike Stern, Joey DeFrancesco, Richard Bona, Fathy Salama and Christian McBride. Classical collaborations include Richard Tognetti, William Barton, The Grigoryan Brothers, Christian Lindberg, Gurrumul, and James Crabb. His songs have been performed and recorded by The Song Company and counter-tenor Andreas Scholl.

His oud can also be heard in films and TV such as Ali's Wedding, The Last Days of Yasser Arafat, Paper Giants; the birth of Cleo, I Remember 1948, The Water Diviner, Checkpoint, The Tentmakers of Cairo, All About E, Love Marriage in Kabul, The Portal, Haneen, The Black Balloon, The Transfer, Memory Film; a Filmmaker's Diary, House of Cards and The Last Ride starring Hugo Weaving.

2023 highlights include performing at the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and the premiere of his new work 'The Three Stages of Hindsight' with the prestigious Britten Sinfonia. He was one of the 50 Australian composers to be chosen to write a fanfare celebrating the Sydney Opera House's 50th birthday. Finishing off the year Tawadros performed a record breaking 25 hours of continuous oud playing at the Kings College Chapel in London, raising £25,000 for charity.

2024 was also busy with a tour of America, Australia and Hong Kong performing Vivaldi's Four Seasons as well as his own compositions with the Australian Chamber Orchestra; and a Canadian debut as a soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal conducted by Maestro Rafael Payare, performing in front of 15,000 people at the Montréal Olympic Stadium.

2025 was a huge year, with 4 international tours including performances in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Spain, Austria, Sweden and Australia, and the release of The Forgotten Path to Humanity, his 22nd Album. A highlight of 2025 was the award of an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the University of New South Wales, being only one of four musicians to receive the honour from this prestigious Australian university.

Joseph was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to music in 2016. He was inducted to the Australian National Film and Sound Archive in 2024, awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Australian Institute of Music in 2013 and awarded the NSW Premier's Medal for Arts and Culture in 2014.