Nicolas Royer-Artuso is a oud player, violinist, linguist, musicologist, and music teacher from Montreal. After studies in classical western music, jazz and electro-acoustic composition, he soon after devoted himself to maqam music, studying in Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, and Turkey. A key aspect of his musical work is the theoretical and practical use of “heterophony.” He has published 3 articles on the subject and has released one practical aspect (a CD) of it. He is a founding member of nü.kolektif, where he composes, co-directs, plays and acts in the theater-oriented political collective. In Istanbul, he is an active part of the city’s traditional music and free improvisational scene. He is the organizer of ‘Dogaçlafest’, a festival devoted to improvised music.