Michel Moushabeck

Michel S. Moushabeck is a writer, editor, publisher, and musician. He is the founder of Interlink Publishing, a 25-year-old Massachusetts-based independent publishing house and the author of four books including: Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa (Interlink Books, Northampton, Massachusetts & The Armchair Traveller at the BookHaus, London, 2011) and A Brief Introduction to Arabic Music (Saqi Books, London, 2013). A Palestinian, born and raised in Beirut, he is a versatile percussionist with over 35-years experience in tabla, riqq, and daff performance. In addition to classical Arabic, he is comfortable playing a variety of musical styles from jazz to flamenco to Afro-Cuban congas. Michel came to the U.S. in 1979, attended New York University, and has since performed at notable concert halls worldwide. He is the lead percussionist of the Boston-based Layaali Arabic Music Ensemble. He played riqq, tabla and daff on the music soundtrack of an award-winning BBC/WGBH documentary on Islam, which aired as part of the series The People's Century. His recording credits include two albums: Lost Songs of Palestine Folk Songs and Dance Music from Turkey and the Arab World He teaches Arabic percussion and lectures frequently on Arabic music and literature. He also serves on the board of directors of Media Education Foundation and on the board of trustees of The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), an annual literary prize organized by the UK’s Booker Prize Foundation.