Music and Poetry
Friday Night 7:45 - 9:00 p.m.
The Friday night performances will feature internationally renowned, virtuoso instumentalist, Omar Faruk Tekbilek with percussionist Aaron Cass; poet, Ahmed Eissawi; and Rumi scholar, Fatemeh Keshavarz performing music and poetry recitations.
Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Friday Eve Performance
A Performance of Sufi Devotional Music
Accompanied by Aaron Cass on persussion and Tamir on vocals
Omar Faruk Tekbilek, a Turkish musical prodigy, began playing traditional pieces on the kaval (a small diatonic flute), ney (bamboo flute), zurna (double-reed oboe-like instrument), baglama (long-necked lute), and oud (the classic lute), as well as percussion. A seasoned traditional performer by age of 12, he gradually explored a wide range of musical genres, absorbed mystical influences from the Mevlevi Dervishes, and eventually became one of the world's foremost exponents of Middle Eastern music. He has collaborated with many famous musicians and tours extensively throughout the world.
Visit Omar Faruk's website for information on upcoming concerts, recordings, downloadable music samples, photos and more.
Aaron Cass
Friday Eve Performance
Percussion & Poetry Recitation in English
Aaron Cass is an actor, musician, composer and co-founder of the Vastearth Orchestra with whom he has produced two albums of classical Middle Eastern poetry set to music, Green Bird and A Garden Amidst Flames. The music is based on and inspired by the readings from Ibn 'Arabi, Rumi and Jili.
The group performs nationally in the UK. Aaron studied Ibn 'Arabi and Rumi, amongst others, at the Beshara School in Scotland where he was both a student and teacher. He is currently editor of the Self-Knowledge and Global Responsibility Journal.
Tamir
Friday Eve Performance
Vocal accompaniment
Tamir is a busy actress who appears in productions across the U.S. and in Europe, a dancer, playwright, author, sought-after voiceover artist, Iyengar Yoga instructor, and performer (including of two one-woman shows based on the books of Amos Oz). She has produced several CDs of devotional poetry (including Rumi's) accompanied by renowned musicians, including Poetry on Prayer, The Way of the Heart, and, most recently, Soul of Love (featuring the poetry of Sant Darshan Singh).
Videos of Tamir can be seen on her website at www.Rumi-wayoftheheart.com
Ahmed Eissawi
Friday Eve Performance
Poetry recitation in Arabic
Ahmed Eissawi, a noted, widely published Sufi poet and former Arabic language instructor at Ain Shams University in Cairo, is: on the faculty of the Foreign Languages Program at the UN (since 1991); an adjunct instructor in the Foreign Languages and Translation Department at NYU; founder and Director of the Arabic Language Institute in NY; and a major figure in Arab-American culture and print and televised media.
Fatemeh Keshavarz
Friday Eve performance
Poetry recitation in Persian
Fatemeh Keshavarz, an Iranian academic, writer and literary figure, is Professor of Persian Language and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Her publications include Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran and "Recite in the Name of the Red Rose": Poetics of Sacred Making in Twentieth Century Iran, and Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal al-Din Rumi. Her interview in 2007 on American Public Radio, Speaking of Faith: The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi, won the Peabody Award.
Featured performances:
Readings from Rumi's Mathnawi
Listen to Fatemeh Keshavarz read first from the original Persian, then give a rendition in English.
Readings from the works of Ibn Arabi
Hear Ahmed Eissawi recite from the original Arabic, followed by Aaron Cass giving the English rendition.
A Performance of Sufi Devotional Music
Omar Faruk's music is rooted in tradition, but has been influenced by contemporary sounds. He views his approach as "cosmic" and his commitment to music runs deep. The four corners of his creativity emanates mysticism, folklore, romance, and imagination. Like Omar Faruk himself, his music symbolizes diversity-in-unity.
