UD Festival: Nizar Rohana

Nizar Rohana

Nizar Rohana began playing the oud at a young age and has become one of the most renowned contemporary Palestinian musicians on the instrument. In his music, he combines traditional Arab and Middle Eastern influences with elements of jazz, improvisation, and Western classical music. Together with double bassist Tony Overwater and percussionist Ruven Ruppik, he forms the Nizar Rohana Trio. Rohana is the artistic coordinator of the UD Competition, in which young oud players aged 16 to 35 compete for the Said Ghraibi Prize. In 2026, the competition will take place for the second time during the UD Festival, organized by the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra and Theater De Meervaart.

UD Festival

The sixth edition of the UD Festival will take place from 3 to 22 November 2026 in various concert halls across the Netherlands. The festival is dedicated entirely to the oud, an instrument that forms a musical bridge between East and West. The oud once travelled a long journey from Baghdad to Andalusia and laid the foundation for a musical revolution in the West. The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra organized the first edition of the UD Festival in 2016.