Events
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International Maqom Festival, June 26-28, 2024, Uzbekistan
Rachel Harris and Saeid Kordmafi attended Uzbekistan’s 2nd International Maqom Festival which was held in Zomin province, in the Jizzakh region of southeastern Uzbekistan. They presented papers at the Maqom Art Conference, organised by the Yunus Rajabi Institute as part of the festival, alongside colleagues from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, France and the US. Rachel Harris spoke on the historical, religious and musical connections between the maqām traditions of Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, […]
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Nasim-e Tarab Ensemble will tour Europe and the UK in Autumn 2024
Nasim-e Tarab Ensemble, led by Saeid Kordmafi, will tour Europe and the UK in Autumn 2024. This will be the first of the border-crossing creative projects supported by Maqām Beyond Nation. The five-member Nasim-e Tarab Ensemble is part of a dynamic aesthetic movement in contemporary Middle Eastern classical music which challenges the rigid (and heavily political) boundaries between national traditions, in favour of a cross-cultural approach to the musics of […]
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A Lecture/workshop in the Yunus Rajabi Institute, Tashkent
On 13 October 2023, Dr Saeid Kordmafi gave a talk at the Uzbek National Institute of Musical Art named after Yunus Rajabi. Delivered to the teaching staff and students of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan in Tashkent (Uzbek maqam masters and apprentices), this talk gave an introduction to classical Iranian music and briefly explored historical interconnectedness among maqam-based traditions across the Islamic world. The session was chaired by the great performer, composer and […]
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The beauty of Shashmaqom
Workshop and Concert at SOAS, 18 March, 2024 This was a stunning concert, with master musicians from Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Juraev on dotar, tanbur and sato, and Khurshed Ibrohimzoda on vocals and tanbur, performing excerpts from the Shashmaqom repertoire, plus a selection of instrumental pieces and new compositions. They were joined by dancer Madina Sabirova from the Tajik State Ensemble Zebo. Sirojiddin and Khurshed were both part of the Academy of Maqom based […]
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Keeping Uyghur Culture Alive in Exile
On February 24, 2024, the Orient-Institute, Istanbul hosted an ‘invitation-only’ event, “Keeping Uyghur Culture Alive in Exile.” The event responded to the repression, surveillance, mass detention and cultural destruction experienced by Uyghurs in recent years. The event focused on the ways in which academics, educators and artists have responded to fears of the erasure of Uyghur culture by engaging with exile communities who are striving to keep their culture alive. Rachel Harris, Professor […]
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Aesthetic Orientations, Cultural Re-Engineering, and Spiritual Joy
Encounters with Uyghur Sufis in Exile A talk given by Rachel Harris at the Research Seminar of the School of Modern Languages (students’ choice), Newcastle University, March 6, 2024. Abstract: This talk reflects on China’s ongoing campaigns in the Uyghur region and related debates on cultural erasure through the lens of recent ethnographic encounters with Uyghur Sufis in exile in Istanbul and Dubai. They are inheritors of an Islamic cultural and spiritual tradition which […]
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SOAS Student Middle East Ensemble performs in an end-of-term event
In a vibrant musical showcase, the SOAS Middle East Ensemble performed in the “Acoustic Evening” held on March 15th at SOAS. This event serves as an opportunity for SOAS Music students to showcase their musical skills and accomplishments gained over the academic year. Comprising some ten students from diverse musical backgrounds (both undergraduate and postgraduate) the ME Ensemble embodies a collective eagerness to learn about musical cultures within the realm […]
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Dr Saeid Kordmafi delivers a Keynote Speech in Cardiff
In a notable academic event, Dr. Saeid Kordmafi took the stage as a keynote speaker at the 2024 BFE/RMA Research Students’ Conference, hosted by the University of Cardiff. His lecture, titled “Performing Transnationality: Thresholds of Artistic Research in 21st-Century Music Studies,” delved into the theoretical frameworks and methodological tools of practice-based research, which are also integral to the “Maqam Beyond Nation” project. Dr Saeid Kordmafi delivering a keynote at Cardiff […]