Riad Abdel-Gawad is an Egyptian-American violinist (kaman in Arabic), composer, and educator based in Brussels, Belgium. He holds a PhD in composition from Harvard University.

His work bridges Classical, Jazz, Arabic, and Contemporary music. He performs his own compositions as well as the works of the legendary Egyptian violinist and composer Abdo Dagher (1936–2021) , known as the accompanist to Oum Kalsoum. Dagher’s unique Sufi-inspired instrumental music is performed both as written compositions and through freely improvised passages, a tradition Riad carries forward as a long-time collaborator and student of Dagher.

Riad leads several ensembles in Brussels, including the Ziryab Duo (violin and contrabass), a quartet with nay, oud, percussion, and violin, and the Ziryab Jazz Quartet. He has performed at venues such as Art Base, Le Senghor, and the Chicago World Music Festival, and with organizations including the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, the Levantine Cultural Center, and the Carnegie Hall Musical Exchange (where he led an online and live workshop on Egyptian Sufi master musicians).

Harvard-trained, Riad is former Executive Director of the Egyptian Music and Culture Hub, a US-based nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about Egyptian (Arabic) music. He has collaborated with numerous musicians and composers, including Samir Bendimered, Baudouin De Jaer, Tom Johnson, Frédéric Lagnau, Martin Ingenhütt, Abdo Dagher, Khaled Dagher, Jan Rzewski, François Essindi, TJ Troy, Yousri Abdel-Maqsoud, and Mohamed Foda.

Riad was fortunate to attend many of Abdo Dagher’s legendary saharāt (evening sessions) in the Hadayak el-Qobba district of Cairo. He later transcribed Dagher’s maqām method—a complete system of musical exercises, compositions, and improvisations—which has helped numerous accomplished musicians learn this authentically Egyptian music.

His discography includes three albums: El Tarab El Aseel (initially released on the Incognito label of Beirut, later distributed by City Hall Records, San Rafael), Egypt: Mother of the World, and Words of Peace. Three Arab women artists contributed to the album artwork: Ezmeralda, Carelle Homsy, and Behia Shehab.

Riad has been commissioned by the New Music Ensemble of Liège for the Ars Musica Festival in Belgium, and has performed in collaboration with Eduard Wolfson (European Division of the Stradivarius Society), Lawrence Assadourian (Middle East Stradivarius), and Barclays Wealth for a special concert on Stradivari and Guarneri violins at the Islamic Museum of Qatar.

In addition to performing, Riad teaches violin and voice, applying the singing method of his master Abdo Dagher—an autodidact who worked across all musical fields of Egypt: folk, traditional, religious, and classical. He has given a conference and masterclass at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (2023), and previously led workshops for the Jeunesses Musicales Belgian public school program. He was also Choir Director at the Community Center of Chant d’Oiseaux in Brussels (past).