Begoña Olavide is recognised internationally as a virtuoso psaltery player and as a pioneer in the revival of the psaltery as a living instrument. She began her musical career as a flautist, graduating from the Madrid Conservatory and taking further specialised courses in Holland, Yugoslavia and Spain. Her growing interest in the nexus between Spanish and Arab music led her to continue her musical development in Morocco, where she studied singing, qanún and theory of Maghrebi-Andalusian music.

Olavide has worked widely in film and theatre productions and documentaries, alongside her live performances and studio recordings with different groups of musicians. As a soloist, she has performed with many national and international orchestras and numerous early music formations, as well as with contemporary, fusion and ethnic music groups. She was a founder-member of Calamus, which played a significant role in restoring the forgotten music of Al-Andalus to its rightful place at the heart of the Spanish musical tradition.

Olavide has toured throughout most of Europe and the Arab world, and in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Japan and Israel. Alongside collaborations with various early music artists and Arab musicians, she is a regular performer with Jordi Savall’s Hesperion XXI. Together with the luthier Carlos Paniagua, she has been involved for many years in researching the psaltery and the evolution of its construction and playing techniques. Begoña Olavide founded Mudéjar in 1994 and directs the group.