Vocalist

Sham is a Syrian vocalist, born and raised in Damascus. She has been singing since a young age, and her voice carries the depth of diverse cultural and emotional experiences. For Sham, music is a refuge, a constant, and a way to connect deeply with herself and others. She performs across multiple genres, inspired by the rich traditions of her heritage and the wider world of music. She has performed with the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, and several other ensembles in the Chicago music scene. She is the singer in TAYF, especially close to her heart, and feels grateful for this path and for the chance to have crossed paths with such wonderful individuals.

Cellist

Dr. Aliah Ajamoughli, PhD is a Syrian American ethnomusicologist, cellist and educator. Her musical style intertwines seemingly two opposing worlds: the folk tunes of her fatherland Syria with medleys of her Alabama upbringing. This blending of bluegrass and maqam sounds the necessity of revolution, joy, and hope across global systems of oppression. 

Flutist & Bellydancer

Phaedra Darwish has been a musician since she started taking lessons at the age of 6 from her mother. She holds a degree in music (primary: saxophone and voice) and is grateful to have traveled the world because of it. She was brought into the world of Arabic music through studying and performing the art of raqs sharqi, and she feels music and dance are wonderful ways to share her heritage as a Lebanese-American. She plays with many Chicago groups which celebrate the SWANA region such as Surabhi Ensemble, Rocambu Jazz, the Middle East Music Ensemble at University of Chicago, and Music & Dance of the Mediterranean. Being a member of TAYF feels like coming home, and she is grateful to make music with such wonderful people

Band Leader & bassist

C Mikhail (they/them) is an Assyrian-German-American musician and audio engineer based in Chicago. With a speciality in the Arab music tradition of maqam, they have become a coveted bassist in ensembles across the city like the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, Sumoud Collective, and the Middle East Music Ensemble of UChicago. C also plays electric bass in the indie band Oyeme. Known for the founding of the queer maqam ensemble TAYF in 2024, they are a proponent of creating opportunities for musicians of the SWANA diaspora. Learn more at cmikhail.com.

Riqq & percussion

Karl El Sokhn, aka Reckless Darling, is a Lebanese multi-instrumentalist. His approach to musical performances is fluid, open-minded and versatile. Reckless Darling takes pride in his language and heritage and his compositions seamlessly blend maqam theory with Western composition. Hitting the scene with an opening show of 650 attendees at the Irish American Heritage Center, Reckless Darling continues to participate in numerous projects in the Chicago music scene. He is the drummer for the Chicago Reader’s best emerging band of 2024, Billy Joel Jr.; the guitarist for the Middle East Music Ensemble, and the riq, guitar player and singer for TAYF.

Violinist

Dr. Shayna Silverstein is a Chinese-Jewish-American musician and professor at Northwestern University. Since her first encounters with SWANA musical cultures while living and gigging in NYC some twenty years ago, she began to study maqam and folk music. Shayna played violin with the Middle East Music Ensemble at the University of Chicago (2003-2012), learned oud and researched dabke in Syria, and attended the Arabic Music Retreat directed by Simon Shaheen. In addition to playing SWANA music, she also plays with the Lakeview Orchestra. Find out more about Shayna's music and scholarship at shaynasilverstein.com.

Shayna appreciates how each member of TAYF brings their own musical sensibility to the intimate arrangements, and cherishes the experience of offering fresh, contemporary SWANA repertoire for Chicagoans.

Guest flutist

After 15 years playing the flute, Fayang Pan discovered ney through the University of Chicago Middle East Music Ensemble (MEME). Now a dedicated ney player with the ensemble, Pan blends a deep classical woodwind foundation with the intricate soul of Arabic music.

Bellydancer

Yasmeen is Arab Hispanic American and grew up loving raqs sharqi, or bellydance. After finding Phaedra Darwish’s classes and deciding to study raqs sharqi formally in 2021, she quickly became dedicated to honoring this art. She values joy and authenticity.

Her opening dance to “Enti Ana” by Lebanese artist Dana Hourani is an ode to the homeland:

This song is for every Mother, Daughter, Sister, Grandmother
For every Man who acknowledges his heroine.
And most importantly for the greatest Goddess of all time, this is for Her — my city Beirut.
I am because She is.

Bellydancer

Coming from a background in instrumental and vocal music and musical theatre, Phaedra Darwish was mesmerized by Arabic dance and music after studying different types of dance from around the world. She feels that these art forms are beautiful ways to share the culture of her heritage. 

She has been performing and teaching workshops and classes in Chicago and throughout the US for the past 14 years, as well as producing and taking part in cultural events, community fundraisers, and dance festivals as both a musician and dancer. Learn more at bellydancebyphaedra.com.

DJ

Allison Parssi is a Chicago based artist + DJ. Parssi got their start as a DJ hosting a variety of day time and specialty programs at their college radio station in Rochester, NY. After trading one Great Lake for another and moving to Chicago in 2017, Parssi expanded their radio involvement by joining CHIRP Radio. As a former Music Co-Director and DJ, recontextualizing music and bringing in new voices to the airwaves drives their work. In March 2023 they started Shokoufeh, a DJ night that focuses on SWANA music from across genres and decades. Over the past three years, they've brought this night to Podlasie, Sleeping Village, The California Clipper, and other venues across the city.