USTAD Mohammad OMAR REBAB 1

Ustad mohammad omar playing classical instrument, rabab. Ustad ,Rebab Mohammad Omar (1905-1980), an Afghan rabab virtuoso, helped shape what many Afghans identify as their "national" music. While Director of the National Orchestra of Radio Afghanistan during the mid-20th century, he composed over a hundred melodies known as naghma and brought acclaim to the short-necked plucked lute, the rabab. Over the airwaves, Ustad Mohammad Omar presented a diverse collection of songs from Afghanistan's rich musical heritage. His radio orchestra, with its regional folk instruments, introduced the nation to a variety of folk traditions rooted in the country's many ethnic and linguistic groups