Cotton Thistle Studio offers online oud & maqam lessons, and is a project studio for new maqam music.
Teaching since 2012, Julian spent seven years as an oud teacher at the Arab British Centre, and also taught undergraduates as a seminar leader/examiner in the music department at King’s College London, with subjects including: the maqamat, music of the Middle East and South Asia, Ethnomusicology and Sound Studies.
He has two areas of specialty in oud performance and composition: firstly, the modern solo style of oud, resulting from eight years of intensive study with Iraqi oud master Ahmed Mukhtar in London. And secondly, the older tatribi style of oud playing from 1920s and 1930s Egypt.
Julian studied composition at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama, then music at Cambridge (BA) and Oxford (MPhil) universities, concluding with a PhD at King’s College London.
Prior to the pandemic he worked as a professional concert oud player, both as a soloist and in group projects, for example in 2019 with Lux Musicae London for their Secrets of Andalusia UK tour. For health reasons he’s had to stop in-person work these days, but enjoys the quality time that one-to-one online teaching allows.
If you want to nerd out about maqam or find yourself in need of music, get in touch!