Anglo-Turkish Society/RAI concert:
The SOAS Silk Road Collective at the Royal Anthropological Institute
23 January 2020, 6.00 pm
The SOAS Silk Road Collective is a London-based group which promotes collaboration among musicians from different cultures along the silk routes, and celebrates their shared cultural heritage. The ensemble includes musicians and dancers, both students and professionals, from across Asia, America and the UK. We perform maqam, songs and instrumental pieces on traditional instruments, ranging widely across Turkish, Iranian and Central Asian musical traditions, with special emphasis on the music of the Uyghurs.
Members
Rahima Mahmut (vocal)
Rahima is the vocalist and co-founder of the London Uyghur Ensemble – a London based group performing traditional and popular music of the Central Asian Uyghurs. Born in the city of Ghuja, East Turkestan (Xinjiang, China), Rahima has performed at many music venues and festivals worldwide, becoming well-known in Central Asian musical circles.
Rachel Harris (dutar)
Rachel teaches ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London. Her research focuses on music in Central Asia‚ and she has spent long periods in the Uyghur region where she learned the dutar with master musicians Yasin Muhpul and Abdulla Majnun.
Tara Catherine Pandeya (dance)
Tara is a performing artist, choreographer and dance scholar, dedicated to the development of Central Asian performing arts through study, instruction, performance and research. Tara’s solo work has been reviewed in the New York Times as ‘nothing less than electrifying.’
Iskandar Ding (daf, Kashgar rubab)
Iskandar’s interest in the links between music, poetry, and language in the Persianate world led him to learn the Kashgar rubab with London-based Uzbek rubab and dutar master Sardor Mirzakhojaev. He is currently pursuing an MA in Iranian Studies at SOAS University of London.
Mohanish Jaju (tabla)
Mohanish is a versatile tabla player. A disciple of Pandit Kumar Bose of the Benaras Gharana, he completed his master’s degree in North Indian Classical Music at Bharati University, Pune, India, and is a recent graduate from the MMus Ethnomusicology at SOAS.
Shotaro Sasaki (ud)
Shotaro holds a bachelor’s degree from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and is now studying at SOAS. As an ethnomusicologist, he has conducted fieldwork in various regions of the world and studied a wide range of stringed instruments. Imogen Lefeux (violin) Imogen is an experienced violinist, well versed in Arab repertoires and style. She has lived for long periods in Egypt, and is a fluent Arabic speaker.
Booking essential: https://soas-silk-road-collective-concert.eventbrite.co.uk
Contact: contact@angloturkishsociety.org.uk
