On February 18th 2026, the international oud scene and the music scene of Montreal lost an exceptional musician: Nazih Borish. Struck down suddenly, he was still in his early forties. The artist of Syrian origin, born in 1982, had arrived in Quebec in the wake of the civil war in his country and the reception of tens of thousands of refugees here. We remember that some fools who operate on social media had shouted about the risk of “bringing bombs here.” There was never any bomb, but rather people like Nazih Borish, who illuminated our winter country with human warmth and extraordinary creative talent. I spoke about Nazih Borish with Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric L\u00e9otar, co-founder and general director of the Centre des Musiciens du monde, who knew him well. He talks to us about Nazih’s art and the humble beauty of this man who spoke and expressed himself essentially in the silence of words and the emotion of music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PanM360: Hello Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric. Thank you for being here. You knew Nazih Borish well, didn’t you? When did you first meet?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric L\u00e9otar:<\/strong> Somewhere in 2014. It was at the time when the creation of the Centre des Musiciens du Monde was in the air. Nazih was a very strong inspiration for this creation. Why? Because in 2014, Nazih had just arrived. He spoke neither French nor English. I was conversing with him through a translator. I had this magnificent artist in front of me, uprooted by war, an exceptional talent. He had no network, no way to connect with the local music community. And in fact, from that moment on, for me, the Centre des Musiciens du Monde is exactly for people like Nazih that we created it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In each of my interventions during the creation process of the Centre, Nazih was there. I mean, in my mind and in the examples I was giving. He was the inspiration for our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PanM360: He is recognised as one of the great oud players of his generation worldwide. The most extraordinary thing is that he was self-taught?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric L\u00e9otar:<\/strong> Yes, absolutely. Reaching such mastery without having followed the teachings of an experienced master is an exceptional rarity. I think that’s why he developed such a personal and unique style. He would switch from one style to another. From traditional maqams to flamenco, jazz, classical, etc. He had this crazy ability to switch from one to another effortlessly and fully master the desired spirit. And in Montreal, it allowed him to meet many musicians with whom he collaborated. Ultimately, he transcended a particular culture, even though, of course, Arab classical music remained the foundation from which he invented all his melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PanM360: What has been its impact on the Montreal scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric L\u00e9otar:<\/strong> We had taken him under our wing a bit, for the reasons mentioned earlier. He played with the Montreal Symphony, at the Arab World Festival, at Upstairs Jazz Club, with plenty of artists from all genres. He was one of the great artists of the city. That said, he was still yet to be discovered by the general public. It was still a growing plant, despite his mastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PanM360: And he managed to live off his art and maintain a great international career…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric L\u00e9otar: <\/strong>Yes. He played all the time, all the time. Every day. He breathed music. He always walked around with his passport because he could receive a call at any moment and he wanted to be able to leave quickly. A real troubadour ready for travel, no matter the conditions. They would call him from a Gulf country and pay for his flight, hotel, everything and all. For a concert. He had tens of thousands of followers on his social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n