Roberto Paolo Riggio

Known for his passion, imagination, collaborative ability and versatility as a musician, Roberto's work has brought him in contact with artists of many genres and disciplines, including such giants of world music as Youssou N'Dour, Fairuz, Marcel Khalife, Simon Shaheen and Kazem Al-Saher. He directs the award-winning band Atash, and has led many other groups, including Bereket, the Middle Eastern Ensemble at the University of Texas at Austin. He has composed, arranged and conducted for many musical groups, concert events, and film scores. 

Atash’s musical director Roberto Paolo Riggio crosses many boundaries as a violinist and composer, immersing himself in musical languages of the world while developing his own unique voice. Mentors and influences include Simon Shaheen, Pandit Ram Narayan, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Francois Rabbath, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Marcel Khalife. He has toured with international stars such as Youssou N’Dour, Fathy Salama, Fairuz, Kazem Al-Saher and the Gypsy All-Stars (family of Gipsy Kings) and has collaborated with cutting edge composers such as Aashish Khan, Eyvind Kang, Kai Eckhardt, Fareed Haque, Bassam Saba and Fared Shafinury. 

He is a founding member of the National Arab Orchestra under Michael Ibrahim, has guest-directed “Bereket” (the University of Texas Middle Eastern Ensemble), is first violinist and string arranger for Oliver Rajamani’s Mondsee Orchestra and has founded various groups, including the East Austin Youth Orchestra and the Austin Global Orchestra. Roberto also works as a producer, and composes symphonic and chamber works that cut across genres and styles.