Fahmi Alqhai Koury, born on October 31, 1976, in Seville, Spain, is a cellist known for his work in Baroque music. He spent his early childhood in Syria until age eleven, learning piano in Homs with his grandmother and beginning his musical training as an autodidact. In 1994, Alqhai entered the Conservatorio Superior Manuel Castillo de Sevilla to study the viola da gamba with Ventura Rico. His career advanced when he moved to Basel in 1998 to study at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Paolo Pandolfo and joined the group Mala Punica, directed by Pedro Memelsdorff. He furthered his studies in 2001 at the Conservatory of the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland in Lugano under Vittorio Ghielmi. Alqhai has collaborated with ensembles such as Hespèrion XXI and Il Suonar Parlante, performing internationally. In 2002, he founded Accademia del Piacere with soprano Mariví Blasco, releasing acclaimed albums including The Bach Album, which won several awards.
