le trio Samarah

The magic of singing, oud, and violin blended with the subtle rhythms of percussion takes us to the shores of the Mediterranean.

Come and discover Samarah, a trio of world music musicians, composed of Françoise Ruscher on violin, Soraya Sehili on oud and vocals, and Lucie Louvrier on percussion and vocals. From Egypt, following in the footsteps of composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab, a pioneer in the revival of "classical Arabic" music, to Lebanon with diva Fairouz, and passing through Syria with Sabah Fakhri, come and share this musical journey which will also include flamenco, tunes by Tunisian composer Hedi Jouini, and pieces by Malian singer Salif Keita. This event is part of the celebration of the Naguib Mahfouz library's 50th anniversary and its initiatives to promote Arab cultures, in connection with its thematic collections.

Biographies

Violinist and violist, Françoise Ruscher is a graduate of the conservatories of Chambéry, the 13th arrondissement of Paris, and the École normale de musique de Paris. She has performed in numerous ensembles, chamber orchestras, and chamber music groups. She has also collaborated with live performance companies. She was introduced to South Indian music and, through the Samarah trio, to Oriental music.

Soraya Sehili trained in Paris at the CMI jazz school before returning to Tunisia to learn oud and singing with the great master of Oriental music Ali SRITI and to study at the Tunis conservatory. Back in Paris, she performed solo on oud and vocals as part of readings and exhibitions, before forming the Samarah trio in 2022.

Lucie Louvrier is a multi-instrumentalist and mezzo-soprano lyrical singer. She began her musical training with piano and singing in Sens. A graduate of the Sorbonne (Paris IV) in English, medieval studies, and musicology, she went to study lyrical singing in England. There, she discovered percussion, the Iranian daf, and Persian music, which marked a turning point in her career. In 2023, she joined the cur