Music engagements for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas include Youssou N’Dour, Aissawa Ensemble, Al Taybah Ensemble, Parissa, Kamilya Jubran, Brahim Fribgane, Adam Matta, zerobridge, Craig Adams and the Voices of New Orleans, and Faiz Ali Faiz
Just added! New York premiere of I Bring What I Love, a documentary about Youssou N’Dour, followed by a performance by the artist
Ten-day, multi-venue arts festival and conference includes artists from India, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Syria, and the U.S.
New York, NY/April 8, 2009— Asia Society, BAM, and NYU Center for Dialogues announce the music programming for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas — the unprecedented ten-day festival and conference taking place June 5–14, 2009 throughout New York City. Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas celebrates the extraordinary range of artistic expression in the Muslim world with more than 100 artists from as far away as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and as near Brooklyn. In addition to music, the festival features theater, films, exhibitions, talks, and other events, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. The full festival press release and line-up can be found at www.MuslimVoicesFestival.org.
Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas
June 5–14, 2009
MUSIC
Youssou N’Dour
Friday, June 5 at 8pm
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $25, 45, 55 at 718-636-4100 or www.BAM.org
BAM presents globally renowned Senegalese musician and humanitarian Youssou N’Dour and his band The Super Etoile in concert on the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House stage. Born in Dakar, Youssou Ndour has raised Senegal’s mbalax, a blend of African, Caribbean, and pop rhythms to global stature. The highest selling African pop musician of all time, he has released more than 30 albums. To kick-off Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas, N’Dour will perform songs that draw on his Islamic beliefs, African heritage, and global experiences. The evening will begin with a traditional invocation by three vocalists. N’Dour’s performance will also be preceded by a short commissioned suite by Iraqi-American composer/musician Amir El Saffar, performed by a pan-Islamic ensemble including Marina Alam, Dena El Saffar, and Dhafer Tawil, among others.
I Bring What I Love/Youssou N’Dour
Saturday, June 6 at 8pm
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $20, $30, $40 at 718-636-4100 or www.BAM.org
BAM presents the New York premiere of the film I Bring What I Love, screened in BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House. Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, the film is a portrait of Youssou N’Dour and the making of the Grammy Award-winning album Egypt—a testament to his Muslim faith and an impassioned plea for a more tolerant view of Islam. The screening will be followed by a brief performance by Youssou N’Dour. More information about the film can be found at www.IbringwhatIlove.com.
Sufi Music Ensembles
Saturday, June 6 at 8pm
BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $20, 30, 35 at 718-636-4100 or www.BAM.org
Based on the mystical branch of Islam, Sufi music seeks to achieve transcendence as a way to connect to God. For this program, BAM presents a unique pairing of two all-male ensembles, the Aissawa Ensemble and Al Taybah Ensemble, who will perform from this vibrant musical tradition. Established in the holy city of Fes, the Aissawa Ensemble, one of Morocco’s most accomplished Sufi ensembles, performs syncopated rhythms on traditional tables, bendirs, and trumpets. Based in Avignon, the Al Taybah Ensemble represent the growing Muslim community in France, whose varied influences enrich their musical language. A guest calligrapher and two whirling dervishes will accompany the ensembles.
Parissa: An Evening of Persian Classical Music
Thursday, June 11 & Friday, June 12 at 7:30pm
Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium, 725 Park Ave (at 70th St.) New York, NY
Tickets: $25 members, students with ID and seniors; $35 nonmembers
212-517-ASIA (2742) or AsiaSociety.org
With a voice “at once refined and deeply emotional” (The Planet, Australia), renowned classical Iranian singer Parissa sings the words of the poet Rumi, accompanied by two instrumentalists on tar (traditional plucked lute) and daf (frame drum). Ethnomusicologist Stephen Blum and Ameneh Youssefzadeh provide a thoughtful overview of Persian music in a pre-performance lecture on both nights at 6pm.
Kamilya Jubran: The Maqam and Beyond
Thursday, June 11 & Friday, June 12 at 9:30pm
Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium, 725 Park Ave (at 70th St.) New York, NY
Tickets: $25 members, students with ID and seniors; $35 nonmembers
212-517-ASIA (2742) or AsiaSociety.org
In Arabic classical music, a maqam (like an Indian raga or Western classical mode) shapes the melodic development of compositions. The extraordinary female vocalist Kamilya Jubran of Palestine, who is rooted in this classical tradition, infuses its ancient power with a contemporary interpretation. Singing modern poetry from Palestine, Iraq, and beyond, she gives voice to a passionate and personal program that explores the idea of “place” in shaping the stages of life.
Muslim Voices at BAMcafé Live
Friday June 12 at 9:30pm & Saturday, June 13 at 9:30pm
BAMcafé (30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY)
Tickets: Free (For information: 718.636.4100 or BAM.org)
For Muslim Voices, BAMcafé Live will present a weekend of contemporary Muslim musicians. On Friday, June 12 at 9:30pm, noted oud rocker Brahim Fribgane will be featured, with Kashmiri-born indie alternative rock band zerobridge opening. Fribgane is in high demand for his fusion of traditional and contemporary styles, performing with such luminaries as Larry Coryell, Adam Deitch, Hassan Hakmoun, Leni Stern, Medeski, Martin & Wood, and Michael Franti. On Saturday, June 13, at 9:30pm, award-winning composer/musician Adam Matta (beatbox, theramin, samples) & Friends present a night of globally flavored hip-hop. This night will showcase the talents of Muslim-American artists such as Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra, and Nihan Devecioglu.
Qawwali Gospel Creation
Saturday, June 13 at 8:00pm
BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $20, 30, 35 at 718-636-4100 or BAM.org
Qawwali Gospel Creation is an evening of musical exchange between Christian/African-American gospel music and qawwali, the 700-year old tradition of Sufi praise music popular in India and Pakistan. The program will feature New Orleans gospel singer Craig Adams and the Voices of New Orleans, and Pakistani singer Faiz Ali Faiz and his ensemble.
About the festival
Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas is an unprecedented ten-day festival and conference taking place June 5–14, 2009 throughout New York City. It is presented by Asia Society, BAM, and NYU Center for Dialogues. The festival features more than 100 artists and speakers from as far away as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and as near as Brooklyn for performances, films, exhibitions, talks, and other events, ranging from the traditional (calligraphy, storytelling, and Sufi devotional voices) to the contemporary (video installations and Arabic hip-hop). Festival presentations and programs aim to present multiple perspectives from the Muslim world. In addition to the mainstage offerings and complementary education and humanities events from Asia Society, BAM, and NYU Center for Dialogues, programs associated with the Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas festival will take place at locations including: Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Brooklyn Museum, MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The New York Public Library. More information can be found at http://www.MuslimVoicesFestival.org.
About the organizers
Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia. The Society seeks to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture. Through the presentation of groundbreaking museum exhibitions and cultural programs, Asia Society provides a forum for both traditional and contemporary Asian artistic expressions. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C. For more information visit AsiaSociety.org.
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is recognized internationally for its innovative programming of dance, music, theater, music-theater, opera, and film. BAM presents leading national and international artists and companies in its annual Spring Season and highlights groundbreaking, contemporary work in the performing arts with its Next Wave Festival each fall. Founded in 1983, the Next Wave is one of the world’s most important festivals of contemporary performing arts. BAM Rose Cinemas features new, independent film releases and BAMcinématek — a curated, daily repertory film program.
BAM also serves New York City’s diverse population through a weekend concert series in BAMcafé, community events, literary series, artist talks, and a wide variety of educational programs. BAM, America’s oldest performing arts center in continuous operation, has presented performances since 1861, and attracts an audience of more than 500,000 people each year. The institution is led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo—each of whom has been associated with BAM for more than twenty-five years. For more information visit BAM.org.
NYU Center for Dialogues is an institution of New York University dedicated to knocking down the walls of misunderstanding between the Islamic world, the United States, and other Western countries and replacing them with bridges of knowledge, mutual respect, and reason. Founded in the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001 tragedy by Director Mustapha Tlili, the NYU Center for Dialogues has established a solid reputation on both sides of the Muslim-Western divide. Its conferences are widely discussed in international policy circles and its publications are used as educational materials in university classrooms, while its initiatives have contributed to new connections made at the institutional and individual levels. Tlili is a NYU research scholar and senior fellow at the university’s Remarque Institute. He is a former senior UN official, having served as director for communications policy at the UN Department of Public Information, director of the UN information center for France, and chief of the Namibia, Anti-Apartheid, Palestine, and decolonization programs in the same department. For more information visit centerfordialogues.org.
Credits
Asia Society, BAM, and NYU Center for Dialogues are the partners for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas.
Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas associate partners are American Museum of Natural History, Austrian Cultural Forum, Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum for African Art, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA), The New York Public Library, and the European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC).
WNET and The New York Times are the media partners for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas.
Major support for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas is provided by: Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation’s New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional support is provided by: Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, The Pluralism Fund, The Reed Foundation, Lisina M. Hoch, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Asian Cultural Council, Kite Foundation, ArteEast, Amita and Pernundu Chatterjee, Con Edison, New York Community Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, PARSA Community Foundation, Zain, Anonymous, Cosmic Picture, and Hazen Polsky Foundation
Youssou N’Dour and Muslim Voices film series are part of Diverse Voices at BAM presented by TimeWarner Inc.
Submitted by Cindy Byram PR
