Charbel Rouhana was born in 1965 in Amsheet, Lebanon. Rouhana is a musician and composer who earned a diploma in oud instrumentation (1986) and an M.A. in Musicology (1987) from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik. Rouhana is a proponent of "oud jazz," which combines Arabic oud music with contemporary jazz elements. The debut album, Salamat (1997), was followed by the collaboration Mada (1998) with Hani Siblini. Discography releases include Mazaj Alani (2000), The Art of Middle Eastern Oud (2003), and Tashweesh (2014). Rouhana won First Prize at the 1990 Hirayama competition in Japan for the composition "Hymn of Peace" (1990). Rouhana also composed music for shows by choreographer Abdel-Halim Caracalla, including "Andalusia, the Lost Glory" (1997).
