Educational Tours

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Educational Tours

Hosted by museums and universities, Riyaaz Qawwali conducts lecture-demonstrations, talks and discussions in addition to their performances. Riyaaz Qawwali is committed to increasing opportunities for all people to participate in and understand qawwali, bhajan and kirtan -the devotional music of South Asia. Ensemble-lead talks & discussions provide students a very unique perspective: an outlook at the crossroads between performance and scholarship.

Universities and schools are finding that the inclusion of the music in a broad-based curriculum improves the quality of a child’s educational experience. Our ensemble teaches in colleges and in the K – 12 system, with tailored lessons to fit the respective age groups. And because the knowledge of the art makes good teachers better, Riyaaz Qawwali has led workshops for educators and teachers. These in-depth engagements leave a lasting impression with audiences, regardless of their initial unfamiliarity with qawwali. The goals of the educational tours are to:

  1. showcase the qawwali musical heritage
  2. experience the traditional qawwali performance with English commentary
  3. explore the poetry used in the qawwali genre
  4. understand the cultural context of qawwali and other under-represented folk musical forms of South Asia

    Tours currently being planned:

  1. California- September 2019. This will include a University engagement
  2. Completed Tours:

  3. Pennsylvania- October 2018. This included a University engagement.
  4. Massachusetts- September 2018. This included a University engagement.
  5. Massachusetts- September 2018. This included a University engagement.
  6. Texas- August 2018. This included a university engagement.
  7. Montana- July 2018. This included a music festival.
  8. Texas- May 2018. This included a museum engagement.
  9. Illinois- April 2018. This include a concert at prominent University in Chicago.
  10. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas- March 2018. This included 3 concerts at Universities.
  11. New Hampshire- January 2018. This included a University engagement.
  12. Texas- November 2017. This included a University engagement.
  13. Florida- August 2017. This included a concert at a major museum.
  14. Florida- March 2017. This included a concert at a music festival.
  15. Ohio- October 2016. This included concerts at Oberlin University.
  16. New York, New Jersey- August 2016. This included public and benefit concerts.
  17. Louisiana- April 2016. This included concerts at the Festival International de Louisiane.
  18. California- April 2016. This included concerts at the prominent Getty Museum in LA.
  19. New York- March 2016. This included a University of Rochester engagements and concert at The Garrison Institute.
  20. New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania- October 2015. This included a music festival, Richmond Elementary School, a university, a residency at a Pennsylvania college.
  21. California- June 2015. This included concerts at a music festival in Santa Barbara.
  22. New York – November 2014. This included concerts at two prominent universities in Manhattan.

Riyaaz Qawwali