George Oro grew up in Qamishli, Syria. He has been passionate about percussion throughout his life and started formally learning percussion at a very young age. He studied music at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, specializing in traditional and western percussion and earned his Master degree in Music Performance from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden. He trained under the renowned Russian professor Alexey Artimiv, the Turkish masters Misirli Ahmet and Levent Yildirim, and the French musician Jean Luke.

 

Oro works with various extended technique methods on different traditional and western percussion instruments including the split-finger technique on the Arab tabla (darbuka/doholla). His skills include also teaching music as he worked as a principal percussion teacher in Qatar Music Academy for four years. In addition he has performed all over the world both as a soloist and percussionist. His participations include, to count a few, playing at the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Doha with Wynton Marsalis, a soloist with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra led by renowned conductors: the late Lorin Maazel and Han-Na Chang, and participating in the first Arabian music concert of West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Teatro Colon, Argentina. George works with different groups and projects such as MAqam ensemble, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Broukar band, Mesopotamian Fusion and SEPO Orchestra in addition to developing his own musical project “Transcending the Darbuka”.