Professor Taiseer Elias is internationally recognized as a leading oud and oriental violin virtuoso, renowned for his mastery of classical Arabic music and his ability to integrate Eastern and Western musical traditions. Throughout his distinguished career, he has performed on major stages worldwide and established himself as one of the foremost soloists in Arabic art music.

Elias has collaborated with many of the world’s most prominent artists, including Ivan Fischer, David Geringas, Wadih El‑Safi, Munir Bashir, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Paco de Lucia, Zakir Hussain, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, and Ravi Shankar. He has appeared as a soloist with leading symphony and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, earning widespread acclaim for his interpretive authority and technical command.

A pioneer in developing a multicultural musical dialect, Elias is celebrated for his efforts to elevate Arabic classical music within Israeli and international concert culture. His work has received numerous honours, including the Jerusalem Foundation Award for Excellence in Performance (2005), the Frank Peleg Award (2009), the Würth International Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli Minister of Culture, and honorary citizenship and the Key to the City of Buenos Aires (2017).

Elias served for 17 years at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he founded and led the Oriental Music Department. He later held an associate professorship at Bar‑Ilan University and is now a full professor in the Department of Music at the University of Haifa, where he served as department chair and received the university’s Outstanding Lecturer Award in 2017.

Beyond academia, Elias has played a significant role in shaping public engagement with Arabic music. He led Kol Israel’s Arabic music department for a decade, presented Arabic music programs on Israeli television, and served on numerous artistic committees and juries, including those for the Aravission and Arab Star competitions, the Zimriya festival board, the Israeli Harp Society, and the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition jury (2021, 2023). He was recently appointed to the Wolf Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Elias advocates for music as a universal human language, emphasizing its power to foster cultural understanding and counter prejudice. His artistry continues to inspire audiences and musicians worldwide.