Rahma BEL HAJ YAHYA

Rahma Bel Haj Yahya started playing the Oud at the age of fourteen. She began her music studies at the “Conservatoire Régional de l’Ariana” in Tunisia in 2004, in order to obtain her “Arabic Music Diploma” in 2011. In parallel with that, she obtained the “Tunisian Music Diploma” in 2012 from the “Rachidia” in Tunis, Tunisia. In 2014, she was accepted to study at the “Institut Supérieur de Musique de Tunis” where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Musicology in 2017. Rahma also passed the Instrument Diploma at the same conservatory (as an ‘Oud player) in 2016 in Tunisia. Rahma has a very rich experience in both playing and teaching, in Tunisia and abroad. She has taken part in many big concerts and music festivals such as “Le Festival de Carthage”, “Le Festival de la Medina” in Tunis as well as other concerts in Algeria, Brussels, France, etc.
Since 2013, she is a member of the “Rachidia orchestra” in Tunis, and in 2015 she joined the “El Azifet” under the direction of Amina Srarfi. She has worked as an “‘Oud, Tunisian and Arab Modes and Theory” teacher in different conservatoires of Tunis. Participation in master classes with internationally renowned musicians has been an important step in her career; Rahma participated at the Tunisian ‘Oud master class with Zied Gharsa and the ‘Oud master class held in Tunisia by the Turkish ‘Oud player Yurdal Tokcan. She also took part in the “Académie du Festival d’Aix en Provence” during the “Artistes-relais” during the sessions of November 2017, February and June 2018 and July 2018. She has also participated in the “Intercultural Creation Session” with Fabrizio Cassol in Aix en Provence, France.
Rahma earned a Master’s Diploma in “Music Research” at the Faculty of Art in 2019 at the University of Strasbourg, France. Since 2020 she is pursuing her studies at the University of Nice Côte d’Azur, in Nice, France, to obtain another Master’s Degree – in Creation and Performance. In 2020 she obtained her C.E.M Diploma from the Conservatoire National à Rayonnement Régional de Nice, and in 2021 her D.E.M Diploma from the same conservatory, with the highest grades possible. Rahma has several certificates and diplomas of participation in big musical projects both in Tunisia and France. Besides her career as an experienced and bright ‘Oud player, Rahma is working as a music teacher since the age of 18.

Photo credit: karim BEL ALI KACEM