While a pioneer in modernizing Arab music, Karim Nagi is also a purist: "Old-Style tradition Arabic music still crushes my soul. It is my first love. It is the only style of music that consistently blisses me." Although adept at multiple instruments, Karim Nagi's specialty is the Riq. He is sought after for his musicality and intuitive accompaniment skill on the riq, regularly being invited to perform with DC-based band Ana Masry and for the Jawaahir Dance Company in Minneapolis  He is also the founder and director of the Sharq Ensemble. Their mission: To preserve and present traditional and classical Arabic vocal and instrumental music. The ensemble has performed at Harvard University, MIT, UC Santa Barbara, The Boston Center for the Arts, Brooklyn Museum of Art, among many others. In 2005, The Sharq Ensemble joined the Boston Camerata on the project "A Mediterranean Christmas". They released an album and toured France and Germany. The repertoire is based on medieval musical cultures of southern Europe and northern Africa, between 1200-1900. The Sharq Ensemble formed an integral part of the Boston Christmas Revels in 2011, where they sold out their 2005 album "REVIVAL: Wasla Hijazkar and Wasla Bayyati" (still available electronically). Given his expertise in Arab rhythms, Karim Nagi has also released albums aimed at educating listeners about the traditional rhythms found in the Arab world. These CDs include "Rhythms from Around the Arab World" and "Advanced Rhythms for the Advanced Dancer." He has also released instructional DVDs for both tabla and riq. Although primarily known as a musician, Karim Nagi has also trained in traditional Arab folk dances, specifically Dabka and Saidi Raqs al assaya (martial arts-based staff dance from Upper Egypt). He can frequently be seen performing the latter, dressed traditionally in a Galabeya and utilizing a pair of staves. He is widely sought after by dancers to teach Arab folk dances, as well as topics that integrate his knowledge of music and dance, e.g. Musicality for Dancers, Live Drum Solo, Arabic Maqam and Taqsim, and Survey of Arabic Music for Dance. Deeply invested in placing Arab dance in its cultural context, Karim began producing the Arab Dance Seminar in 2005. This three-day event immerses students in the language, music, social and political context of dances from different parts of the Arab world.