First Inversion is proud to announce the 2026 JUNO Awards nomination on its Athene label for the album, Zaytoun, in the Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist) category. Zaytoun (meaning ‘Olive’ in Arabic) is Haitham Haidar‘s captivating debut solo album, featuring a collection of beautiful Baroque and Arabic songs, interlaced with poetry and musical improvisations exploring the intersection between Baroque and Arabic music.
Zaytoun marks the first JUNO Awards nomination for the Athene record label, and the first for Haitham Haidar. On Zaytoun, Haidar is supported by an incredible cast of musicians: Sylvain Bergeron, Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, Amanda Keesmaat, Tany LaPerrière, and Abraham Ross.
“Athene is thrilled to celebrate this nomination with Haitham Haidar. From the moment we first began discussions with Haitham, we knew this was a special project. It is wonderful to see that we were not alone in feeling that way. Zaytoun is an album of our time, and one sorely needed as a reminder of shared humanity, but it is also timeless in its beauty. We thank the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for recognizing that as well.” —David Weuste, First Inversion Executive Director
“Zaytoun was born at a time of heavy strife and internal conflict. The constant duality of identity, the continuous search for belonging fueled this exploration of self through music: music that I’ve grown up with playing every morning on the radio while my parents prepared their coffee, and music that I ended up studying and practicing for years at some of the best institutions.
Suddenly in my journey, I felt lost. My voice felt lost. It didn’t know where it belonged. Though I may have trained my voice in one genre, my heart felt like it belonged to another. Though I was carving out a life on a different continent, my heart belonged somewhere else.
Zaytoun is all of these things combined. It joins the heart and soul of my Arabic roots with my love and dedication to Baroque music. Zaytoun explores the interlaced nature of Arabic and Baroque music in a way that feels new yet natural and allows us to shorten the distance between these two worlds.
Perhaps Zaytoun can remind us that in our differences we are very much alike.” —Haitham Haidar
Critical Acclaim
“Listening to these 14 tracks, I feel he’s onto something important. His voice has an unmannered directness which goes straight to the heart, whether it’s in Monteverdi’s ‘Nigra sum’ or in the sweet simplicity of a paean to Jesus commonly sung in Arab churches on Good Friday. And with four top-flight instrumentalists led by Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, two very different musical worlds become a serene, seamless single one.” –Michael Church, BBC Music Magazine (5 Stars and Vocal Choice for October 2025)
“Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian-Canadian tenor with a memorably warm tone…a gripping communicator and charismatic musician. This touching and sensitive debut album presents a beautifully conceived programme. The resulting sound world is beautiful. This performance will stay with me for a long time… ” —Edward Breen, Gramophone
“The traditions of Western and Arabic music have profitably encountered each other at several points in history…none has explored the mixture in as much depth as Haitham Haidar. its ambition and passion are to be welcomed. It is an album unlike any other… ” —James Manheim, AllMusic
“Haitham Haidar’s Zaytoun is one of the most striking solo debuts I’ve experienced for some time. ” —Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International
