Who Am I
In addition to being a professional oud player, music teacher, composer, and lyricist, Mr. Samer Totah is also a professional oud maker. He began learning the craft of oud making independently in 1997 by purchasing an oud and dismantling and breaking it apart in order to examine its internal structure. In 2005, he traveled to Turkey for two weeks, where he accompanied one of the most skilled oud makers, Faruk Turenz, in his workshop and learned the art of oud construction firsthand. He continued to build and experiment, and has considered himself a professional oud maker since 2014 up to the present day (2024). Throughout his career, Samer has crafted 146 ouds, in addition to 20 buzuqs and two violins. He also specializes in repairing all types of Eastern and Western string instruments. Samer operates his workshop from his grandfather’s old house in the city of Ramallah. Over the course of his journey, Samer Totah has earned a strong reputation as one of the leading names in oud making in the Arab world and internationally, becoming a destination for musicians from around the world seeking a distinctive, handcrafted oud of the highest level of craftsmanship and ornamentation.