Biography
Joseph Tayoun, a second generation Lebanese American, is an accomplished Middle Eastern percussionist. He started playing by the early age of eight at his family’s renowned Middle East Restaurant in Philadelphia where live, authentic Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Armenian, Greek and Israeli music and dance were performed nightly for over forty years. Learning from the area’s top Middle Eastern musicians, Joe became adept at the many styles of drumming within these different ethnicities. He performs with various Middle Eastern and World Music ensembles locally, regionally, and internationally, as well as conducting workshops and master classes at schools and universities.
Joseph has been the recipient of several noteworthy grants from such organizations including the: NEA, PCA, PAEP, and the State Department. He currently performs with M’Oud Swing an original, progressive World Jazz Ensemble and Barakka an original Turkish World Rock group. He is a Teaching/Artist-In-Residence at Independence Charter School, an award winning K through 8th school in Center City Philadelphia where he instructs a Hands-On Global Arts class and directs the new World Drumming Corps for the Middle School. Joe is also Artist-In-Residence at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archeology where he regularly instructs Middle Eastern Drumming classes in the Egyptian Gallery for adults.
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Among Joseph’s many credits and performances:
- Trump’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut
- Several residencies & performances with Tabla Master Zakir Hussain, composer Simon Shaheen and A.J. Racy at Swarthmore University and Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia
- Accompanied Israeli composer Yair Dolal at Princeton University and Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
- Tangier Jazz Festival
- Mawazin Music Festival, Rabat
- Artist-In Residence for Musicopia
- International Children’s Festival University of Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Ohad Bar David and Intercultural Journeys
- “Concerts for Peace” for over 15 years with the Arabic/Jewish ensemble Atzilut which tours throughout the U.S. and Europe
- The United Nations
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In addition, Joseph has performed with Henrik Goldschmidt, principal oboist for the Royal Danish Orchestra, and the Middle East Peace Orchestra which has appeared on several occasions in Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, and Austria. Joe’s Mid-East Ensemble performs extensively in the U.S. from weddings to university concerts. The group specializes in the use of authentic instrumentation and its lively arrangements of Classical and Traditional Middle Eastern music. Joe is also a sought after studio musician and has recorded tracks on numerous CDs with various recording artists and a variety of genres.
Most recently, Joseph and Lebanese-American actress Leila Buck were invited to take part in the Cultural Envoy Program sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the American Embassy in Denmark. They spent two weeks traveling throughout Denmark, performing and teaching workshops and master classes with a variety of students, musicians, actors and professors in various schools and universities, including the World Music Center and the Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Due to the enthusiastic response of the students and teachers and overall success of the program, Joseph and Leila were asked to return for a second tour of Denmark the following year.
See Joseph’s videos