Dena El Saffar; Viola
Dena El Saffar, an Iraqi-American, was exposed to music in a cultural setting at an early age when her parents took her to Iraqi parties in the suburb of Chicago where she grew up.  She began learning the violin at age six, and continued her studies of classical music with plans to earn her college degree in music.  But when Dena accompanied her father to Baghdad in 1990 and heard music in that context, her focus turned toward Middle Eastern music.  She then transferred from Cleveland Institute of Music to Indiana University because they had a Folklore/Ethnomusicology Department.  Dena now holds a bachelor's degree in viola performance, and is the mother of two children, Jamil and Layla.

Megan Weeder; Violin
Megan Weeder has been playing violin since the age of five. As a freshman at Indiana University, she met Dena El Saffar, with whom she began to explore the world of Middle Eastern music. She currently holds a Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University, and a Master's degree in Ethnomusicology from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, where she studied with Egyptian violinist Ahmed Mansour. She has professionally performed the music of Central Eurasia, the Arab world, Iran, Greece, and Turkey, and plays kamanche and rebab as well as violin.

Victor Santoro; 'Oud
Victor Santoro acquired his love for Arabic heritage from his mother of Syrian descent, who had spent most of her life immersed in Arabic culture.  When his family moved to the Midwest, Vic learned to play guitar, but later pick up derbeki (Arabic drum), and learned Arabic rhythms.  He began collecting a wide variety of Middle Eastern recordings, and soon found himself combining his guitar skills and his love for Arabic music on the 'Oud (Middle Eastern lute).  Victor has performed with several Middle Eastern ensembles, often accompanying belly dancers, and has served as director of music for the Indianapolis Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble.  When not performing with Salaam, Victor designs roads for an engineering/architectural firm in Indianapolis.

Hakan Toker; Kanun
Hakan A. Toker  is a classically trained musician. He began his formal music education at 12 in a conservatoire system in his native Turkey. He later moved to USA and got his bachelors in piano and composition from Indiana University School of Music in 2000.  Starting in his teens, he performed piano recitals and with orchestras in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, Iceland, and USA including several festivals in these countries; playing classical repertoire, his own compositions and improvisations. He is currently pursuing an improvisation-based career.  He plays "kanun" in Salaam.

Joe Donnelly; Ney
Joseph Donnelly has a Bachelors of Music Education from Vander Cook College of Music where he graduated as valedictorian. He studied saxophone with Jim Kaspyrzk of the Chicago Saxophone Quartet and flute with Kay Clements of the Chicago Lyric Opera. He has been a member of Salaam Middle Eastern Music and Dance Ensemble for over two years and is the musical director of the Latin Dance Band Orquesta Son. He performs and records regularly with many local and regional acts including: Alma Azul, Serenade Big Band, Unstable Ensemble, Toothpick Wilson and the Cavaliers and the Klezmorchestra.

Ron Kadish; Bass
Ron Kadish began his musical journey at the age of nine on his father's clarinet. He began playing the electric bass at 12, then finally settled on the acoustic upright bass at 17. Since then, he has studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and acquired a Bachelor's degree from Indiana University School of Music. He was a member of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel for two years, and has performed with a variety of American orchestras, as well as John Denver, the Moody Blues, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Currently, Ron is active throughout the Midwest as a teacher, clinician, and freelance bass player. He lives in Bloomington, IN with his wife Julie, and their three children, Nile, Hazel, and Viola.

Raja Hanania; Percussion
Raja began his musical journey at the age of seven when he had his first guitar lessons in the old city of Jerusalem.  He performed as a guitarist and a vocalist in numerous musical festivals throughout Jerusalem and the West Bank.  At the age of 17, Raja came to the U.S. where he played the Arabic flute (shababeh or nay), touring the Midwest with a Middle Eastern dance group.  The Arabic drum (tableh) has always been Raja's favorite instrument, and for the last six years, he has been playing the tableh with several local bands in Indiana.  Although Pharmacy is Raja's main profession, music occupies a big part of his life to which he devotes a lot of his time.  Raja has been living in Bloomington since 1993 with his wife, Rula, and their two children, Dina and Tareq.

Tim Moore; Percussion
Tim Moore grew up in the Midwest, and began playing the drums at age 12.  He studied drumming throughout high school and college, and gained a lot of experience playing in various jazz, blues, and rock bands.  Tim received a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Indiana University, and spent several years programming computers on the east and west coasts, but returned to Bloomington in 1993, to pursue music professionally.  It was then that he became exposed to Middle Eastern music, and began studying Arabic percussion, eventually joining Salaam as a full-time member.  Tim is married to Salaam violist, Dena El Saffar, and enjoys spending his free time with their two children, Jamil and Layla.