“Oud”-standing: Le Trio Joubran at TEDGlobal 2013

The brothers who make up Le Trio Joubran are part of a long line of oud makers and players. What’s an oud, you ask? Why, it’s a beautiful, lute-like stringed instrument, of course. Accompanied by Youssef Hbeisch on percussion, Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran captivate the TED audience with their intricately picked tunes. Communicating with each other through gesture, with each brother taking the lead in turn, the music slowly builds to a rousing crescendo of oudic virtuosity. For an encore, the grinning brothers crowd around just one of the instruments to pick out a final six-handed tune, to send the delighted TEDGlobal audience off into the Edinburgh night.