Syrian Music Preservation Initiative to Present Love and Loss: Traditional Music of Syria at Carnegie Hall

The Syrian Music Preservation Initiative (SMPI) will commemorate its fifth anniversary with an evening of classical music from Syria, entitled Love and Loss. The event will take place on Friday, May 19, 2023, at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. The celebration, which begins at 8:00 PM, will showcase the talents of SMPI’s Takht al-Nagham, an Arab chamber music ensemble directed by Artistic Director Samer Ali. The group will utilize traditional takht instruments, such as the Arab lute (oud), Arab zither (qanun), and tambourine (riq).

Samer Ali shared that the theme of love and loss resonates throughout the classical Syrian repertoire and remains significant in their current reality. “We are committed to preserving and rejuvenating Syria’s diverse regional music traditions, and this performance will showcase both older, lesser-known works and contemporary pieces. In this way, we celebrate the past, present, and future of Syrian music.”

The one-night-only event will include compositions by various Syrian composers, including Mahmood Aijan, Wanees Wartanian, Khalil Haj Hussein, and Samer Ali. Traditional works by other Syrian composers will also be featured. Joining Samer Ali on stage will be Marissa Arciola Ali on bass, Brian Prunka on oud, John Murchison on qanun, Nezih Antakli on riq, Lubana Al Quntar on vocals, and choir members Zahra AlZubaidi, Erik Jönsson, Marwa Morgan, and Stefan Paolini.

Founded in 2018, SMPI aims to promote and celebrate the diverse ethnic and regional musical traditions of Syria through preservation, innovation, research, and education. The organization’s endeavors encompass music and dance performances, classes, workshops, and seminars, as well as digital resources and recordings.

Samer Ali is a man of many talents: a physician, composer, oudist, violinist, and the founder and artistic director of SMPI. He has led SMPI’s Arab chamber music ensemble, Takht al-Nagham, in performances across the country, from New York’s Roulette Intermedium to Miami Beach Bandshell in Florida and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Marissa Arciola Ali brings a unique blend of business and artistic experience to the SMPI board as its president and a member of Takht al-Nagham. Marissa has played bass for a variety of musical genres, including classical, rock, and Middle Eastern music, while working with several nonprofit organizations. She prioritizes digital initiatives, focuses on growth opportunities, and spearheads fundraising efforts to ensure the organization’s financial success.

Lubana al-Quntar, hailing from Damascus, is a globally renowned opera singer and traditional Arab singer with a repertoire that spans folk, pop, and traditional Arabic music. With academic studies completed at the Damascus Conservatory of Music, the Royal College of Music in London, and the Maastricht Academy of Music in Holland, she has performed around the world as an opera soloist and a traditional Arab singer. Lubana also served as the head of the opera department at the Damascus Conservatory, where she taught opera and Arabic singing.

John Murchison, a multi-instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, performs in a diverse range of musical genres, from pop and musical theater to jazz and avant-garde, as well as traditional music from Africa and the Middle East. He is one of the most sought-after bassists for traditional Arabic music in the United States and regularly performs on qanun, gimbri (sentir), oud, and percussion. John is also a co-founder of Brooklyn Maqam, an organization that promotes, presents, and builds community around Arabic music in the New York City area.

Zahra AlZubaidi is a New York-based Iraqi vocalist with a focus on performing various Arabic styles, especially Iraqi music. She has performed as a featured artist across the US, with renowned artists such as Muhammad Qadri Dalal and Lubana AlQuntar, and with ensembles such as Safaafir, Hamid AlSaadi, and Takht ElNagham. Zahra was awarded the City Artist Corps grant in 2021 to showcase women’s voices and Iraqi Maqam and recently performed at the 2022 Habibi Festival at NYC’s historic Joe’s Pub.

Nezih Antakli is a percussionist based in New York City who has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, as well as at festivals worldwide. A graduate of the University for the Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands, he has been involved in the Middle Eastern and Balkan music scene in the wider New York City and Philadelphia area since moving to the United States in 2007. Nezih has also performed on Broadway in “The Band’s Visit.”

Marwa Morgan, a journalist and singer from Egypt, grew up surrounded by classical Egyptian music and started singing at an early age. Since moving to the United States in 2015, music has been a way for her to stay connected to her home country. She has performed with several ensembles in the US, including Takht Al-Nagham and The Middle East Music Orchestra at Rutgers University.

Erik Jönsson, a vocalist and clarinetist based in Brooklyn, has been singing since childhood in his church’s choir in the Hudson Valley. He continues to sing in church as a member of Trinity Church Wall Street’s Downtown Voices and has performed at Carnegie Hall, BAM, and Madison Square Garden. Erik frequently performs with orchestras like the Chelsea Symphony, he is a software engineer and has worked with the SMPI to build and launch their website and perform with its performing ensemble, Takht al-Nagham.

The performance also features various musicians who were selected after an audition process, which was open to anyone from the community who wanted to perform with SMPI; the musicians include three siblings of Syrian descent from Philadelphia: Kyla (violin), Chris (violin), and Manja (qanun); as well, as Amirah Ismail (violin), who is of Egyptian descent and from Washington, D.C., and Laith AlAttar (oud), who is of Iraqi descent and also from the Washington DC area.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

Tickets can be purchased at carnegiehall.org.

Masks are not required, though are encouraged.

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