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Ghiya Rushidat (1984-present) is a Jordanian-born, United States Composer based in Los Angeles, CA. She began to play the piano at the age of four, and began studying concert level piano performance at the age of twelve. She earned the LRSM certificate from the Royal College of Music in London, Diplome d’Etudes Musicales from Lyon and a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Yermouk University and the National Music Conservatory in Jordan.

In 2008, Ghiya entered the world of film music in 2008, scoring ‘Desire’ a silent short produced by the Royal Film Commission. She soon then began working on several successful films and projects such as documentaries and features with renowned TV stations as Al-Jazeera, CNN, and BBC. One of her productions was a UCLA feature called ‘Mother Lover Daughter Symphony’.

Towards the end of 2013 a concert took place for Ghiya at Jordan’s Al Hussein Cultural Centre which sadly resulted in violence, the venue’s staff beating Ghiya and her fellow musicians after being accused of insulting the government and defaming the national flag following a comment by one of the musicians. The musicians decided to file a complaint with the police only to discover that the venue had done the same against them, both sides in time deciding to drop the charges. This was not however without the incident creating a storm nationwide, Ghiya and the musicians gaining support from Jordanians, but not the government.

A turning point in Ghiya’s career came in 2014, when she moved to the United States to explore her film composition opportunities in the Hollywood movie industry. Upon arrival, she began working on ‘Pen of Mirrors’ film starring Eric Roberts, her music receiving outstanding and positive feedback from music experts and professionals within the Hollywood industry.

Ghiya is recognised as one of Jordan’s most innovative musical talents and one of the very few female film composers in the Middle East and the world. She has successfully integrated her cultural background, wide exposure to classical music and understanding of western music trends into her film music.

In addition to playing over 150 concerts in Jordan and abroad, Ghiya’s composition ‘Yassamine‘ has been performed in Italy by the Gli Enarmonici Ensemble, making her the first Arab composer to have their work perfomed by the Ensemble.

‘Yassamine’ was originally composed as a soundtrack for a documentary film, one of 12 documentaries and 7 features for Al Jazeera News and Documentary Channels Ghiya has composed original soundtracks for.

Along with long documentary films, Ghiya has also composed original soundtracks for plays, feature films, short films, animation films, photo galleries and TV spots.