Insia Malik is a versatile violinist with experience in a wide array of styles and languages of artistic expression. Her musical encounters have unfolded at off-Broadway theaters, restaurants, and venues as varied as Le Poisson Rouge, Carnegie Hall, Bowery Poetry Club, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the TriBeCa Film Festival, the Festival Jazz Perú Internacional in Lima, and a living room near you. You might find her air-bowing Vivaldi in a comedy sketch on NBC’s Saturday Night Live or jamming at a Beirut nightclub.
Insia began her music career in the worlds of classical and contemporary music, playing with groups such as the Chelsea Symphony and Mimesis Ensemble. Since 2010, Insia’s musical inclinations have expanded to include the performance of Middle Eastern music. Pursuing serious study of the Arabic violin with prominent New York-based master musicians Simon Shaheen and Bassam Saba, she began to perform with the New York Arabic Orchestra at venues such as Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, Detroit Symphony Hall, and Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors. She further extended her grasp of repertoire from playing in New York's Middle Eastern restaurant scene. She currently appears regularly with the Detroit-based National Arab Orchestra, an ensemble bringing together musicians from across the country to present traditional repertoire. She has shared the stage with Shaheen and Saba, as well as riqq legend Michel Merhej and prominent composer and musician, Marcel Khalife. She has been a frequent participant at Simon Shaheen’s annual Arabic Music Retreat, where she has also studied 'ud, the Middle Eastern lute.
Insia’s interactions with the rich musical traditions of the Middle East have opened her up to diverse artistic projects that draw on far-flung idioms, improvisation, and innovative modal and rhythmic colors. Insia is recognized for her deep soulful tone on the fiddle, proficiency in learning new music both by ear and with quick transcriptions, and the ability to transcend cultures and traditions with a style all her own.
Insia completed double bachelor degrees in Violin Performance (in the studio of Gregory Fulkerson) and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at New York University. She is a violin instructor, teaching students of all levels and ages (students ranging from 5 to 75), with experience in teaching both group classes and private lessons. She was previously a violin coach for the InterSchool Orchestras of New York (ISO).
Insia earned her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in 2022. Insia has been invited to the Manhattan School of Music and New York University to speak about Middle Eastern musics and history as well as to demonstrate concepts of music theory and performance on the violin. Insia is an Assistant Editor at RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale).
Insia began her music career in the worlds of classical and contemporary music, playing with groups such as the Chelsea Symphony and Mimesis Ensemble. Since 2010, Insia’s musical inclinations have expanded to include the performance of Middle Eastern music. Pursuing serious study of the Arabic violin with prominent New York-based master musicians Simon Shaheen and Bassam Saba, she began to perform with the New York Arabic Orchestra at venues such as Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, Detroit Symphony Hall, and Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors. She further extended her grasp of repertoire from playing in New York's Middle Eastern restaurant scene. She currently appears regularly with the Detroit-based National Arab Orchestra, an ensemble bringing together musicians from across the country to present traditional repertoire. She has shared the stage with Shaheen and Saba, as well as riqq legend Michel Merhej and prominent composer and musician, Marcel Khalife. She has been a frequent participant at Simon Shaheen’s annual Arabic Music Retreat, where she has also studied 'ud, the Middle Eastern lute.
Insia’s interactions with the rich musical traditions of the Middle East have opened her up to diverse artistic projects that draw on far-flung idioms, improvisation, and innovative modal and rhythmic colors. Insia is recognized for her deep soulful tone on the fiddle, proficiency in learning new music both by ear and with quick transcriptions, and the ability to transcend cultures and traditions with a style all her own.
Insia completed double bachelor degrees in Violin Performance (in the studio of Gregory Fulkerson) and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at New York University. She is a violin instructor, teaching students of all levels and ages (students ranging from 5 to 75), with experience in teaching both group classes and private lessons. She was previously a violin coach for the InterSchool Orchestras of New York (ISO).
Insia earned her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York in 2022. Insia has been invited to the Manhattan School of Music and New York University to speak about Middle Eastern musics and history as well as to demonstrate concepts of music theory and performance on the violin. Insia is an Assistant Editor at RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale).