Biography
Tawfiq Al-Nimri (1918 – 2011) was a Jordanian composer and singer who collected, sang and composed Jordanian folk music. He was born in the city of Al-Hosn, located in the province of Irbid, on June 10, 1918; he spent his childhood with his grandfather, after the death of his father. He studied at the Catholic School of his town for two years, during which he was the supervisor of the church choir. At school he learned the Greek language in order to perform hymns in Greek Byzantine rhythm.
During World War II he joined the British Army and after the war was appointed as a Paymaster. From that time he often played his oud and sang with the British soldiers. He left after seven years of service and moved to Ramallah, where he worked at a local radio station and composed many songs; at the same time, he started collecting and recording traditional Jordanian songs. During his career he performed more than 750 songs and collaborated with important Arab singers. He also published many articles on Arabic music.
He died on 23 October 2011 of pancreatic cancer while in a coma at Al-Istiqlal Hospital in Amman.