Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

Yewubdar Guebrou was born in Addis Ababa on December 12, 1923, to a privileged family. ​She gave her first violin recital at the age of ten. At age 19, she secretly fled Addis Ababa to enter the Guishen Maryam monastery in the Wello region. She served two years in the monastery and was ordained a nun at the age of 21. She took on the title Emahoy and her name was changed to Tsegue Maryam. Despite the difficult life in a religious order and the limited appreciation for her music in traditional Ethiopian culture, Emahoy played up to nine hours a day and went on to write many compositions for violin, piano, and organ concerto. Emahoy's first record, "Spielt Eigene Kompositionen" was released in Germany in 1967. Other recordings followed in 1970 and 1972, with proceeds going toward various charitable causes. It wouldn't be until 2006 that her music would resurface in the compilation "Éthiopiques Volume 21: Ethiopia Song," where Emahoy's beautiful piano compositions captivated worldwide audiences. In 2016, Mississippi Records released the self-titled "Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru," followed by a reissue of "Spielt Eigene Kompositionen" the same year, and "Jerusalem" in 2023. Emahoy Tsegue Mariam Guebrou lived in an Ethiopian Orthodox convent in Jerusalem, Israel until her death on March 26, 2023, at the age of 99. She has been recognized by international media including The New Yorker, NPR, Voice of America, Deutsche Velle, Le Monde, BBC, Israel, and Canada TV.