Naseer Shamma is a renowned Iraqi musician with a PhD in "Musical Philosophy". He has obtained over 60 awards, including the award for the best artist in Iraq, the British Royal Academy Award and the "Rotterdam Arab Festival" award. Shamma has focused on teaching the Oud instrument and as result established the Oud House in Cairo, Alexandria, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and most recently Khartoum, attracting students from all over the world. He has produced many memorable performances, among them with the "Metropolitan Orchestra" in Montreal, with Jazz legend Winton Marsalis, in addition to the "Lebanese National Orchestra of Oriental-Arab Music" In 2000 he founded the 2350BC Orchestra, He is also the founder of Eastern Orchestra, which includes 75 musicians from the far-east MENA and European regions as well as the "Global Ensemble”, a group of leading Western musicians, emphasising for peace and justice recently re-branded to the "Peace Builders”. Shamma has widely contributed to globalising of the oud instrument, and has been named “Master of the Oud” as well as “The Oud Legend”, he has tirelessly fought for human rights and advocated for humanitarian plights in addition to the preservation of human heritage, he currently serves as ambassador for peace of “Non-Violence International, The International Federation of Red Crescent/Cross Societies and UNESCO.