Nikolai Ruskin is a multi instrumentalist known for his dynamic and versatile command of traditional rhythms and techniques on a wide variety of instruments from around the Middle East. Nikolai was born in San Diego and grew up in San Francisco as an illustrator before discovering his talent for music. He is currently pursuing a career as a recording artist and composer for multi media, film and video games. Nikolai’s journey into music began in 1997 at age 21 with the punk band Cat Puke, followed by an exploration of Flamenco guitar. Soon after this a close friend introduced him to the Darbuka (Arab hand drum) which lead to an intensive study of traditional styles and techniques of both melodic and percussion instruments from Arab, Turkish, and Persian cultures. Recently Nikolai has begun to branch out from his focus on traditional Middle Eastern music to learn about new genres in order to expand his creativity. As an educator, Nikolai has taught private lessons, group workshops and lecture demonstrations. In 2002 he co-founded the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble in Ithaca, NY, of which he was the Musical Director until 2006. His past performances include appearances with Naser Musa, Amir El saffar, the Sharq Ensemble, Karim Nagi, Yair Dalal, Latif Bolat and was the percussionist for Zikrayat. In October 2007 Nikolai spent a month performing live music accompaniment for a theatrical version of Mary Zimmerman’s play “Arabian Nights” at the University of Connecticut. Nikolai has appeared on a variety of recordings including "Zikrayat: Live at Lotus" by Zikrayat, “The Belly and the Beat” by Turbo Tabla, “the River is High" by Gadje, and "The Songs of Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People" by the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble, and “Mosaic” by Amy Glichlick.