Video Discription |
Ani Zonneveld is a singer/songwriter/producer as well as the founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values. With more than 20 years in the music business, she is a Grammy certified songwriter and a cultural innovator. Ani performs “In My Soul”, for a new genre she created she calls "Islamic Hymns". The song’s lyrics are inspired by a poem by a 7th century female Muslim Iraqi saint, Rabi’a al-Basri, set to her original composition in the classical genre. The song begins with:
“In my soul there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church where I kneel.
Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist”
****************************************************************************
For many years now I have been wanting to create a celebrative musical event, something that reflects our progressive and inclusive values. With contributions from the community, and in a concept of participatory theater, this will be a production that we see ourselves in, and one that we can call our own.
But first, we need to dispel the idea that music is "haram" by anchoring a new tradition in our very old heritage, our musical history, the music the enslaved Muslims brought to America, gnawa, which then led to blues, country and jazz.
Phase I of the Muslim Musical Mosaic will be a hybrid of a panel discussion of that history and musical performances to illustrate that history, but, with a twist!
Check out the names and bios of the artists and presenters below.
Ani Zonneveld
Muslims for Progressive Values
Members of The Muslim Musical Mosaic Cohort - 2024:
LuFuki is is a composer, guitarist, historian, and cultural curator based in Detroit who views music as a spiritual practice that brings about healing and unity and whose artistic practice centers around Black ancestral legacy.
Alfred Madian is a musicologist and a multi-instrumentalist specializing in Nubian and Sufi musical traditions.
Farah Mitha is a pop singer, songwriter and producer of South Asian heritage whose productions have earned her a diversity of performing awards.
Tazeen Ayub is an educator, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, curator, and community organizer. Using her voice and instrumentation (guitar, Bansuri flute, and swarmandal), she blends afro-indo sounds, while weaving elements from jazz, funk, soul, Sufi chants, and Indian classical music.
Aiman Khan is an experienced and versatile musician and performer, whose main instrument is the french horn and whose work spans many genres and mediums
Ani Zonneveld is a singer/songwriter/producer as well as the founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values. With more than 20 years in the music business, she is a Grammy certified songwriter and a cultural innovator. |