Born in 1958, Ali Osman is a Sudanese composer of contemporary classical music. He has lived in Egypt since 1978 and has been active in Egypt's contemporary music scene. Osman began as a rock musician in 1971 and taught himself to play the drums and the guitar. He studied double bass with Rodney Slatford at the Conservatory of Music in Cairo from 1978-82, and earned his BMus in composition and music theory with distinction and MMus in arts. Among his honors is Third Prize in the Abu Bakr Khairat competition of the Ministry of Culture in Cairo (1995), for Song for Chamber Orchestra and a scholarship from Pro Helvetia to visit Switzerland (2000). His music has been performed in Austria, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.