Rooted in maqam,
built to move.

Ṣaltanah is the classical Arabic ensemble Camille founded and directs in Melbourne, built around maqam, the slow unfolding of tarab, and the art of listening together. Drawing on the takht tradition, qanun, nay, oud, violin, bass and percussion, the ensemble moves through taqasim, muwashahat and instrumental classics, shaping each set to the room and the night.

The repertoire reaches from the golden-age Cairo and Aleppo schools to original arrangements, performed by players steeped in the oral tradition.

Ṭarabeat is the electronic project Camille founded in Beirut in 2016. It draws heavily on classical Middle Eastern music, leaning on Arabic scales, maqamat and rhythms, and supplements traditional instruments, the oud, nay, qanun, santur, violin, tar and riqq, with sequencers, synthesisers and bass. The result is an energetic blend of dance music inspired by tarab, Sufi and regional folk.

Live, it is a rotating cast of players, vocalists and dancers, including the Ṭarabeat x MzRizk collaboration.

Estudiantina of Melbourne revives the urban Greek music of the 1920s to 1940s, rebetiko, Smyrneika and amanedes, inspired by the historic estudiantina orchestras of Smyrna. Camille plays qanun, nay and zilia alongside violin, oud, bouzouki, accordion and guitar.

The ensemble's heritage is as mixed as Melbourne itself, with Greek, Turkish, Jewish, Armenian and Lebanese threads, across the albums Journey to Rebetika and Ta Nisia.

Led by Turkish vocalist Onur Kurt, The Kismet Project crosses borders through Turkish classical music, Anatolian folk and psychedelia, and Romani gypsy song. Camille plays qanun in a line-up that moves between sultry classics and fiery dance numbers.

It is music of migration and meeting points, Turkish roots threaded with Balkan and Western colour.

Just the instrument and the room. Camille's solo recitals move through taqasim, improvised explorations of a maqam, and classical and contemporary Arabic pieces on qanun and nay. Intimate and responsive, scaled from a salon to a concert hall.

These sets also fold into duo and collaborative formats and into studio sessions, including his featured playing on Christopher Tin's Grammy-nominated Old World.

Loud, joyful and mobile. Zaffé is the traditional wedding procession, mizmar (double-reed horn) and tabl (drum) leading the celebration into the crowd. Camille brings the same roving energy to festival openings, parades and parties.

It is the most immediate music he makes, built to move people, literally.

Through interactive sessions and snippets of live performance, Camille offers a fun, hands-on exploration of Middle Eastern music, with a particular focus on Arabic traditions. Participants explore maqams and their regional variations, the rhythms and instruments that define the region, and the history of Arabic music, its ancient roots, cultural evolution, and the influence of colonisation.

Sessions are pitched to the room, from primary classrooms and festival crowds through to advanced players refining maqam and technique, delivered through Cultural Infusion and independently.