Choral pluralism: bridging multicultural identities in choral sound
It all begins with a vision. Maybe you want to expand your programming. Maybe you want to explore new relationships with diverse cultures and peoples. Or maybe you have a creative intercultural project for which you need the perfect piece of music. Whatever it is, the way you and your choirs tell the story of our collective identities makes all the difference.
I ask, what would an interconnected world sound like in a pluralistic society?
My music harnesses the power of choral sound and texture to envision the sound of harmonious bridges across diverse lived experiences in an interconnected world. My music is inspired by my centuries-old Gujarati Indian ancestry, Ismaili Muslim upbringing and my lived experiences as a 4th generation Kenyan now living in Canada.
My hope is that this music can be a resource that inspires you, your choirs and students to reimagine how their multiple identities and ancestral connections can find a revitalized voice in a contemporary experience.
May this musical catalyst awaken our individual and collective creative potential remake and make musical cultures in which we can all feel belonging and identity.
The Wedding (Featured)
The Wedding tells a story of joy, loss, pain and communal healing. How does a family, community or society deal with tragic loss of many lives? In this piece strength is drawn from communal belonging, Ismaili Muslim faith, and comfort that departed souls will return home to their maker. The piece weaves diverse texts and sounds from Indo-Muslim, Arabic, Persian, Christian, and English traditions.
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SATB Divisi a cappella! Perfect for programs based on themes of nature, water, relationship with the land, Sufism, Hindustani music and culture, environment, and search.
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Nūr: Reflections on Light is a ambient piece perfect for moments of reflection and pause in a concert program. The musical draws from Sufism, Hindustani music, Arabic rhythm, Latin choral text and Indo-Ismaili Muslim devotional poetry. The piece expresses a vision of harmonious coexistence held in the knowledge of our common humanity.
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Mombasa Matatu Meditation is Inspired by the beautiful sound of Azan, call to prayer that art part of the everyday sonic life of cities in the Muslim world. The music amplifies the beautiful cacophony of Azan from a variety of Mosques juxtaposed with traffic noise in Mombasa, Kenya. Musical material from Arabic cultures, pluralistic Muslim experiences, call to prayer, Quran and Sufi traditions.