Muslim Musical Mosaic Event

Dear everyone,

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. The first step to fulfilling that vision is to anchor it in 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!

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: June 30, 2024

Time: 5:00 to 6:30 PM PST

Location: Cats Crawl Theater | 660 North Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90004

SPEAKERS AND PERFORMERS:

Dr. Mark Levine is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the School of Humanities at University of California, Irvine, and serves as the humanities advisor for this project.

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.

Pictured L to R: Mosaic Cohorts - Alfred Madian (percussionist, sufi, and gnawa music historian), Aiman Khan (French Horn), LuFuki (Black jazz historian & guitarist), Tazeen Ayub (vocalist & guitarist). Not pictured is Farah Mitha (vocalist) and Ani Zonneveld (keyboards & vocalist)

We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles.

Onwards & upwards,

Ani Zonneveld

Founder & President of Muslims for Progressive Values

This project and free event is made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.

Additional funding from generous MPV donors. We love you!