Watch and Listen

Date: Last updated on May 25, 2022

Expand your horizons with a world-class selection of music, dance, comedy, and other performing arts. 

 

Watch this space for videos of new performances and magical moments from the Museum's archives. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada.

 

Healing Rhythms, EP4: The Moneka's Journey from Mombasa to Basra to Toronto

 

In the last episode of the series, enjoy songs from the fourth mood, Simba, and learn about the different Sufi traditions and rituals that are practiced and performed in Iraq — specifically in Basra. Gain insight into the diverse faiths that have lived in Iraq, and the harmonious ways in which they interconnected as a society for hundreds of years, through generations.

 

Healing Rhythms, EP3: The Moneka's Journey from Mombasa to Basra to Toronto

 

In the third episode of the series, the Moneka family introduces viewers to the third mood, titled Ishtemirithrough a series of songs that harmonize and integrate old Swahili and Arabic. Learn about the history of the black community in Iraq and Thawrat Al-Zinj – The first black revolution in the world.

 

Healing Rhythms, EP2: The Moneka's Journey from Mombasa to Basra to Toronto

 

In the second episode of the series, the Moneka family introduces viewers to the second mood, titled Muzoka, through a series of ancestral songs that have been passed on through generations of the Moneka family. Learn about why these traditions are so important to preserve through song, and how they have evolved and grown with the Moneka family throughout their rich family history.

 

 

Healing Rhythms, EP1: The Moneka's Journey from Mombasa to Basra to Toronto

 

In this 4-part series marking Black History Month and the rich cultural diversity of Toronto, you will be introduced to several teachers and musicians — including the Moneka family — who share their rhythms and songs that celebrate family and community. In 2015, Ahmed Moneka arrived in Canada at the age of 24. Moneka is now a Canadian Citizen and a father. After a 1,000 year generational history in Iraq, Ahmed’s father, mother, and sister joined him in Toronto in 2021, leaving their Iraqi roots that extend back to Mombasa, Kenya in the 8th Century (CE).

 

Afraaz Mulji Original Composition

 

This piano composition by contemporary multi-instrumentalist Afraaz Mulji is inspired by a 16th-century music manuscript in the exhibition Hidden Stories: Books Along the Silk Roads. The manuscript, now in the collection of Western University in Ontario, was originally owned by a monastery in Spain and used for communal singing in the choir. Mulji performs his original composition and is joined in conversation with Amirali Alibhai (Head of Performing Arts, Aga Khan Museum) to discuss the process of composing the piece and his interest in the Spanish antiphoner and its music.

 

 

Pocket Performance: Maryem Hassan Toller at the Museum's From African celebration

 

Sit back, relax, and smile as Museum Favourite Maryem Hassan Tollar serenades you with two upbeat folk songs from Egypt. Accompanying herself on the riq, a kind of tambourine, the JUNO-nominated singer-songwriter pays tribute to her country of birth with lilting ballads that call to mind passionate love and Egypt’s stunning geography.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Hindola Raga by Azalea Ray

 

Listen to this Bandish performed by Azalea Ray, a Toronto-based artist. What do you feel when you listen to this piece? Does it evoke a sense of swinging? The Museum commissioned Ray to create a new Bandish inspired by a painting in our collection. The painting, from a Ragamala series, evokes what a person would feel when hearing the Hindola Raga, ​a musical mode associated with the early morning hours from midnight to 3 am. The Bandish is distinguished by its “swinging” nature and slow melody.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Madagascar Slim

 

Guitar ace Madagascar Slim blends American blues-inspired licks and Malagasy storytelling in his February 2021 set for the Museum’s From Africa online musical celebration. Stop by to hear the master musician make his instrument wail, and as an added bonus, learn about his journey from his birthplace in Africa to his evolution into a multiple JUNO Award winner in his adoptive homeland of Canada. 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Tichaona Maredza

 

In his solo set for the Museum’s From Africa festival in February, singer-songwriter Tichaona Maredza painted a hopeful and nuanced musical picture of his homeland of Zimbabwe. Watch his performance to immerse yourself in his rich stories and the soothing sounds of the mbira, a traditional instrument from southern Africa.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: OKAN

 

With vibrant melodies and orchestral notes, Afro-Latin jazz duo OKAN ’s performance for February’s From Africa online music festival evokes the rich cultural fabric of their homeland of Cuba. Click the video below to relive the wonder!

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Padideh Ahrarnejad and Ali Massoudi

 

In their latest Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls​, renowned Toronto-based instrumentalists Padideh Ahrarnejad and Ali Massoudi brilliantly tackle well-loved works by celebrated Iranian composers. Watch and be amazed by the passion and precision of their artistry.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Naghmeh Farahmand, Shahin Fayaz, and Bijan Sepanj, Part 2

 

Immerse yourself in Part 2 of Naghmeh Farahmand (percussion), Shahin Fayaz (setar), and Bijan Sepanji's (violin) transcendent archived performance at the Museum. The trio dazzle with their unique blend of Iranian and Western classical styles.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Re/turning by Sashar Zarif

 

Toronto-based choreographer Sashar Zarif’s virtual performance for the Aga Khan Museum is an unabashed celebration of spring — and a bold expression of hope for a better post-COVID-19 future.

 

Featuring breathtaking imagery by Zarif and hybrid-media designer Luke Garwood, Re/turning is a ritual dance story inspired by the journey toward rebirth, from winter to spring, regeneration to awakening. It is an intimate and revealing journey that turns and returns, honouring devotion as a path to prosperity, to wisdom, to purity through love, to peace and serenity into transcendence: a new beginning.

Pocket Performance: Majd Sekkar's Syrian Spring Song

 

Canadian Arabic Orchestra member Majd Sekkar sets aside the clarinet for his special spring-themed mini-concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls​. Hear him sing in Syriac and improvise on a traditional Armenian instrument, the duduk.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Camille Watts and Roberta Janzen of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

 

Two elite players with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra take on powerful, folklore-infused 20th-century compositions in a new a Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls​. In the fall, the TSO’s Camille Watts (flute) and Roberta Janzen (cello) recorded one solo each and one duet in the Museum’s Auditorium. As you watch the performance, marvel at how these two masterful musicians soar both in melodic conversation with each other and when featured as soloists.

 

Camille Watts and Roberta Janzen at the Aga Khan Museum is presented in colloboration with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Online Performance Exhibition: IAM: Dance of the Molecules

See science and art achieve brilliant synergy in Toronto artist and molecular biologist Radha Chaddah’s new online performance exhibition for the Museum.
 
IAM: Dance of the Molecules is the first in a series of four COVID-19 stories told through bodily movement and light. Don’t miss Chaddah’s beautiful, unflinching commentary on disruption and adaption — available on the Museum’s website from March 5 until April 30, 2021.

 

Pocket Performance: Naghmeh Farahmand, Shahin Fayaz, and Bijan Sepanji 

 

Enjoy Part 1 of 2 of a stirring archived Museum performance from Naghmeh Farahmand (percussion), Shahin Fayaz (setar), and Bijan Sepanji (violin). The trio, who are all instructor-performers with Toronto’s Sarv Music Academy, blend Iranian and Western classical styles to dramatic effect. 

Like what you see and hear? Tune in for Part 2 when it's released in March 2021!

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Showcase Concert: Baaba Maal's Duniya Salaam

 

In honour of Black History Month 2021, relive the magic of Baaba Maal’s historic February 2020 residency at the Museum. Watch this video to experience highlights from the Senegalese music legend’s Duniya Salaam concerts, a celebration of diversity and world peace. The presentation will premiere at 12 pm ET on Saturday, February 13 and be available to replay afterwards. 

 

Pocket Performance: Abbas Janmohamed and Samidha Joglekar

 

Get into a mid-week groove with this beautifully transfixing north Indian classical performance by Abbas Janmohamed (tabla) and Samidha Joglekar (vocals). Click the video below to view their Museum concert and learn more about the storied forms of Indian classical they experiment with and honour in their work. 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Selcuk Suna Trio

 

Go on a musical adventure to Istanbul with the Selcuk Suna Trio, featuring Selcuk Suna (clarinet), Ergun Gulbay (kanun), and Alihan Inanli (piano/keyboard). Like the Turkish metropolis itself, the ensemble’s rich sound pairs diverse, deeply rooted traditions with big-city glamour and grandeur.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank. 

 

Pocket Performance: Jerus Lee

 

Drift off for a moment to lands of sun, surf, and sand with Jerus Lee's sensational Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. The Brazilian singer-songwriter traverses continents and cultures with her playful rhythms and smoky melodies.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Honeypaw with Matti Palonen and Jurgita Žvinklytė

 

Finland to Lithuania, by way of Toronto? Matti Palonen and Jurgita Žvinklytė blend folk traditions to create soothing, wintry soundscapes. Click the video below to experience their pre-recorded Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Pocket Performance: Beth Silver

 

Musician Beth Silver plays a selection of Jewish music stemming from the Ashkenazi tradition. In her exclusive Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls, she performs klezmer music not on the fiddle, which is more traditional for the genre, but rather on the cello. This innovative playing style was cultivated on a month-long mentorship in Brooklyn with klezmer violinist Jake Shulman-Ment — an exploration generously made possible by the Canada Council of the Arts.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Rémi Pelletier and Zeyu Victor Li of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

 

Ring in the New Year with the soothing sounds of two elite string instrumentalists achieving musical synergy on the Museum stage.

 

In the fall, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Zeyu Victor Li (violin) and Rémi Pelletier (viola) revisited two beloved classical string duets in the warm acoustic environs of the Museum’s Auditorium. Watch their performance and be astounded by the grand emotions and intricate musical layers that can be unleashed by just two skilled artists pouring their heart and soul into their craft.

 

Rémi Pelletier and Zeyu Victor Li at the Aga Khan Museum is presented in collaboration with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: The Aga Khan Museum and the Canadian Opera Company present Operatic Masterworks

 

Four up-and-coming opera standouts. Four electrifying performances brimming with passion, sincerity, and finesse.

 

Filmed earlier this fall in the Aga Khan Museum's Auditorium, Operatic Masterworks spotlights emerging artists in the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio program. Each featured vocalist performs a well-loved operatic composition that resonates with them. Combined together, these masterful displays of musicality highlight opera's irrepressible power as well as its continuing relevance in the present day.

 

 

Operatic Masterworks is presented in partnership with the Canadian Opera Company.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group

 

Pocket Performance: Shawn Mativetsky

 

In his most recent Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls, tabla soloist Shawn Mativetsky experiments with a traditional rhythmic structure called Rupaktaal.

 

After you have finished listening, try revisiting his mini-concert from earlier this fall. Do you notice any differences in how the two performances make you feel?

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank.

 

Pocket Performance: Saeed Kamjoo

 

Classically trained in Persian musical traditions, Saeed Kamjoo sets himself apart with his innovative approach to the gheychak. Click the video below to take in his gorgeous new Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. 

 

Pocket Performance: Amir Amiri

 

Composer and master musician Amir Amiri returns to his roots with a santur performance that will surely tug at your heartstrings. Click the video below to watch this moving filmed-at-home mini-concert for yourself!

 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Pocket Performance: Shawn Mativetsky

 

Shawn Mativetsky, one of Canada’s leading tabla ambassadors, takes us on a rhythm-fuelled journey with his stirring solo performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. Click the video below to go for a musical ride. 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Amir Koushkani and Hamin Honari

 

Treat yourself to a dreamy virtual performance of traditional Persian music by Amir Koushkani and Hamin Honari. Both classically trained and globally renowned, these two are not to be missed.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Gordon Grdina

 

JUNO Award-winning guitarist and oud player Gordon Grdina delivers a masterful and passionate filmed-at-home concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

 

Based in Vancouver, Grdina constantly reinvents himself while retaining an individual voice. Aside from leading the group GG3, he heads up the East Van Strings, Haram, and Sangha. He also records and performs regularly with Dan Mangan and The Crackling. A protégé of jazz great Gary Peacock, he is a well respected contributor to the jazz and world music scenes constantly being sought out for projects that need a fresh sound.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Araz Salek and and Pedram Khavarzamini

 

Masters of Iranian classical music Araz Salek (tar) and Pedram Khavarzamini (tonbak) recorded a special Pocket Performance in our Auditorium earlier this summer. We’re thrilled to present the mini-concert for your viewing and listening pleasure!

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Sanctuary Series: Maryem Tollar and Dawn McFarlane

 

Juno-nominated musician Maryem Tollar and storyteller Dawne McFarlane engage in a lyrical call and response in this impassioned interpretation of a classic Arabic folk tale from One Thousand and One Nights. This stunning performance, delivered in the Museum’s second-floor gallery, is part of the Sanctuary Series. Featuring spoken word, storytelling, dance, music, and poetry from seasoned local artists as well as new voices, this series excavates themes — of migration, home, identity, and refuge — highlighted in the Museum’s Sanctuary exhibition.

 

Pocket Performance: Naghmeh Farahmand

 

Born into a family of musicians, percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand has made her mark mastering traditional instruments and grooves from Iran and beyond. Allow her to take you on a rhythmic world tour with her mini-concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Padideh Ahrarnejad and Ali Massoudi

 

Toronto-based musicians and educators Padideh Ahrarnejad and Ali Massoudi have each spent decades studying and performing traditional Persian instruments. Watch the duo’s #MuseumWithoutWalls mini-concert to glimpse their masterful command of the language of music.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Behind the Scenes: Jeremy Dutcher at the Aga Khan Museum

 

The Aga Khan Museum has played a small but influential role in the rise of JUNO and Polaris award-winning musician Jeremy Dutcher. Celebrating Indigenous elders and stories, his first-ever music video, for the song “Mehcinut,” was shot at the Museum. Months later, in early 2020, Dutcher and his band embarked on a short residency here, experimenting with sonic structures and performing a quirky “living room-style" concert for a gathering of lucky fans.

 

Click the video below to watch highlights from Dutcher’s residency, including clips from his interview with journalist Sook-Yin Lee.

 

 

Performance: Abida Parveen at the Aga Khan Museum

 

In 2016, legendary Pakistani singer Abida Parveen — often referred to as the “Queen of Sufi Music” — graced the Museum stage for a private performance as part of a short residency in Toronto. To say the experience was powerful would be an understatement.

 

Four years later, we are delighted to present a recording of the occasion for your viewing pleasure. Interspersed between songs are behind-the-scenes footage of Parveen and her band setting up for the show and fascinating interview clips with the global superstar in which she opens up about her origins as a performer and shares deep musings about the spirituality animating her music.

 

Click the video below to behold the strength and conviction of Parveen’s unforgettable concert at the Museum. 

 

Abida Parveen at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Toronto.

 

Pocket Performance: Tarek Ghriri and Nour Kaadan

 

Melding traditions from Syria and the Middle East with influences from Europe and beyond, guitarist Tarek Ghriri and Nour Kaadan will have your feet tapping and your head bobbing with their irrepressible, flamenco-infused sounds. Click the video below to experience their spirited mini-concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group

 

Pocket Performance: Jessica Deutsch and Tyler Emond

 

Playing four original tunes, string instrumentalists and composers Jessica Deutsch and Tyler Emond weave together Western classical, folk, and Eastern influences in their filmed-at-home concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. Click the video below to experience the performance for yourself.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Canadian Youth Chinese Orchestra

 

The Canadian Youth Chinese Orchestra have charmed audiences in Canada and abroad with their elegant, lyrical musicianship. Now, watch these talented youngsters overcome their latest challenge: performing together virtually for a special #MuseumWithoutWalls concert.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Nastasia Y

 

Ukraine-born Nastasia Y layers soulful vocals, twinkling keys, and tasteful electronic loops — and even a few chords on the accordion — to form sonic confections both atmospheric and catchy. Click the video below to watch the DoVira lead singer's Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Shaho Andalibi

 

Aga Khan Music Award-winning performer Shaho Andalibi treats #MuseumWithoutWalls-goers to exquisite improvised melodies with roots in Kurdistan and beyond. Click the video below to experience Andalibi's lyrical ney-playing and inspired vocals. 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Performance: Kamancello at the Aga Khan Museum

 

In May 2019, celebrating the release of their latest album, kamancheh player Shahriyar Jamshidi and cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne stunned concert-goers at the Museum with impassioned musical conversations between East and West. Click the video below the watch Kamancello's astonishing performance at the Museum. 

 

 

Kamancello at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council. 

 

Rhythms of Canada Performances

 

Performance: Okavango African Orchestra
Discover what happens when sounds and stories from across Africa strike up a vibrant made-in-Canada conversation. Click the video below to watch JUNO winners the Okavango African Orchestra's joyous 2019 concert at the Museum.

 

Okavango African Orchestra at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto, and Modern Niagara.

 

Pocket Performance: Lisa Odjig
Lisa Odjig’s prowess as a hoop dancer has taken her around the globe and earned her seven world championships. Watch in awe as she introduces the Indigenous art form and channels its deeply spiritual beauty.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Pocket Performance: Amely Zhou
Erhu maestra Amely Zhou strings together sonic traditions from East and West to spellbinding effect. See her passion and finesse shine through in her Rhythms of Canada Pocket Performance.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: François Houle
In his Pocket Performance for Rhythms of Canada, Vancouver-based musician François Houle paints otherworldly sonic landscapes using the clarinet, looping pedals, and his prodigious imagination.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

Pocket Performance: Aqua Nibii Waawaaskon

 

Singer. Songwriter. Hand drummer. Storyteller. Activist. Teacher.

 

Ojibwe-Métis artist Aqua Nibii Waawaaskone brings these elements of herself and much more to her #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance. Watch and be uplifted by songs and stories of hope and resilience.

 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Wednesday Night Concert: Canadian Arabic Orchestra presents Greek Arabia

 

Embark on musical journey that transcends space and time, taking you from the Acropolis to Constantinople, as Greek and Arabic traditions intertwine.

 

Click the video below to watch the Canadian Arabic Orchestra’s 2019 Museum performance of Greek Arabia.

 

Greek Arabia at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Weekend Performance: Incantations with Moe Clark

 

Diverse, deeply rooted cultures find common ground in Métis singer and poet Moe Clark’s 2017 Museum performance of Incantations. Inuit throat singer Nina Segalowitz and oud player Katia Makdissi-Warren join Clark, a musical explorer whose subtle style of improvising pulls from gospel, folk, and spoken word.

 

Incantations at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Special Weekend Performance: Scintillating Santoor: Pandit Satish Vyas

 

For a special weekend performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls, we proudly present Pandit Satish Vyas's and Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan's 2019 concert at the Aga Khan Museum — an associate partnership with the Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto. Watch the video beloew to indulge in stirring sounds from masters of the Indian classical tradition.

 

 

Pocket Performance: Lamia Yared, Didem Başar, and Andrea Romani

 

Each performing from home, singer Lamia Yared, kanun (Turkish zither) player Didem Başar, and flautist Andrea Romani reach a state of synergy fusing Arab and Turkish traditions. Click the video below to watch their exclusive short concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Performance: Misaq-e-Ishq (The Covenant of Love)

 

Harvard University's Dr. Ali S. Asani, writer-singer Ali Sethi, and musician Noah Georgeson honour Sufi poets and traditions in their 2018 Museum performance of Misaq-e-Ishq (The Covenant of Love).

 

 

Misaq-e-Ishq at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Wanes Moubayed

 

For today’s Pocket Performance, a partnership with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra, Syria-born violinist, teacher, and conductor Wanes Moubayed transports you around the world with his soulful playing and diverse musical influences. Click the video below to watch his exclusive filmed-at-home perfomance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. 

 

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Stories of Love Spotify Mixtape

Bask in the many meanings of love and togetherness with our latest #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify Mixtape. Youl'll be savouring deeply soulful tracks from global legends such as West African blues troubadour Boubacar Traoré, Qawwali innovator Badar Ali Khan, and multilingual singer-songwriter Lhasa de Sela.

 

Go here to listen to our Stories of Love Spotify Mixtape. 

 

Pocket Performance: Georgia Hathaway

 

Toronto string virtuoso Georgia Hathaway explores the versatility of the violin in her Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. Watch her flit and flow between diverse styles, including Irish folk, Western classical, and traditional Arabic music.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Friday Night Performance: The World of Jahanara

 

Toronto dancer and choreographer Bageshree Vaze's December 2018 show at the Museum paid moving tribute to her late mentor, Jahanara Akhlaq. The Pakistani-Canadian Kathak dancer’s impactful life and career were cut short in 1999 when, at 24 years old, she was shot to death at her family's home in Lahore. Her murder remains unsolved.

 

Despite how young Akhlaq was when she died, her legacy continues to radiate two decades later. See it shine through in this archival performance of Vaze’s The World of Jahanara.

 

Pocket Performance: Toronto Tabla Youth Ensemble

 

Never heard of the Toronto Tabla Youth Ensemble? You're in for a treat. This group of wildly talented youngsters dazzles with gorgeous drumming, dancing, and bright melodic touches. Click the clip below to see a music-video-quality showing from the team. 

 

Pocket Performance are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Pocket Performance: Justin Gray

 

Have you ever heard of the bass veena? As it happens, our latest Pocket Performer from the #MuseumWithoutWalls invented it by adapting a traditional instrument from India and Pakistan.

 

Click the video below to see Toronto's Justin Gray work his magic using musical hardware he helped pioneer.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Performance: Rhythm Rewritten with Jason Samuels Smith and Seema Mehta

 

Last year, renowned Indian kathak dancer Seema Mehta and Emmy Award-winning tapper Jason Samuels Smith cast a spell on Museum audiences with their show Rhythm Rewritten. We’ve made the experience available online — so you, too, can see two soulful performance traditions tangle in a passionate embrace.

 

 

A co-production with the Kabir Centre, Rhythm Rewritten at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Andrew Kay and Violante Binazzi

 

Based in Toronto, acclaimed musician and educator Andrew Kay fuses jazz and Indian classical music to create a sonic tableau both meditative and powerfully moving. For his Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls, he is joined by his partner, Violante Binazzi, who bathes Kay’s alto saxophone and singing bowl playing in the warm vibrations of the Indian tanpura.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Talking to Me and You Spotify Playlist

A celebration of this week’s #MuseumWithoutWalls theme of “Pluralism,” our latest Spotify Mixtape is all about intercultural exchange. The artists featured demonstrate spectacular creative interplay in breathtaking musical form. Cultural traditions engage each other in joyful call and response in scintillating cuts from Aga Khan Music Award finalists Shaho Andalibi and Huda Asfour, local favourites Lemon Bucket Orkestra and the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, and Kerala-based When Chai Met Toast. 

 

Go here to listen to the Museum’s Talking to Me and You Spotify Mixtape.

 

Friday Night Concert: Farzad Attar Jafar

 

Today's Pocket Performer, Farzad Attar Jafar, is classically trained in Semazen (Sufi whirling) and has studied a cornucopia of Sufi music and poetry. Click the video below to watch his spirited — and spiritual — presentation.

 

This Pocket Performance, a partnership with URGNT, is presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Concert: Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers at the Aga Khan Museum

 

Commune with the transcendent sounds of Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers' sold-out 2018 show at the Museum. Belonging to a storied family of qawwali music-makers, the brothers honour centuries-old Sufi devotional traditions while offering up sonic ideas exciting and new.

 

Never experienced qawwali before? Here's a primer from cultural anthropologist and cultural programmer Umair Jaffar on what to listen for while you're watching.

 

Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Paromita Kar

 

This Pocket Performance by Toronto-based classical Indian Odissi dancer Paromita Kar is her second for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. In this video, she evokes traditions from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and beyond. Watch the video below to see disparate styles of dance and music swirl together to delightful effect.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group. 

 

Coming Together Spotify Mixtape

This week’s #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify playlist explores what it means to come together in pursuit of new sonic possibilities. It features melodious co-creations between solo artists such as Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood (as well as local favourites Maneli Jamal and Pouya Hamidi), special international projects from the likes of Vijay Iyer and the Silk Road Ensemble, and multigenerational collaborations from artists such as Amai Kuda Et Les Bois. 

 

Celebrate the sound of unity — go here to listen to the Museum’s Coming Together Spotify Mixtape.

 

Sunday Afternoon Concert: Pandit Satish Vyas and Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan at the Aga Khan Museum

 

The Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto and the Museum present this recorded concert of Pandit Satish Vyas, one of India’s most acclaimed santoor players, and Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan, a powerful vocalist and descendant of the Agra Gharana musical lineage. Joined by Pandit Ashis Sengupta on tabla and Dr. Vinay Mishra on harmonium, they perform a program of evening raags — improvisations based on musical scales that serve as the lifeblood of Indian classical music and have no traditional Western equivalent.

A partnership with the Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto, Pandit Satish Vyas and Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan at the Aga Khan Museum is sponsored by the Gulshan and Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation and supported by the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Ziya Tabassian

 

Ziya Tabassian’s Pocket Performance will have you dancing to the beat of the Iranian tombak drum.

 

Born in Iran, Tabassian started playing the tombak at age 10 and deepened his connection to the instrument after he moved to Quebec. He later studied with percussion masters in Canada and around the world, and he has wowed audiences in more than 40 countries.

 

Click the video below to watch his hypnotizing four-song set for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Concert: Huun Huur Tu at the Aga Khan Museum

 

Huun Huur Tu have attracted an enthusiastic global following by cross-pollinating the sonic traditions of the Tuva people of central Asia, Western classical influences, and flourishes of electronica. Watch the group's 2016 set at the Museum to see what the fuss is all about.

Huun Huur Tu at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council. 

 

Performance: The Fethi Nadjem Ensemble

 

Museum Favourite Fethi Nadjem was set to play Toronto’s Richard Bradshaw Ampitheatre on April 7 as part of the Canadian Opera Company’s Free Concert Series. Unfortunately, that show had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

 

One month later, we are pleased to report we’ve partnered with the COC to present a special Pocket Performance featuring the Algerian-born multi-instrumentalist. In their mini-concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls, Nadjem and bandmates Marito Marques and Majd Sekkar serve up north African traditions infused with electrifying jazz tones and rhythms.

 

Click the video below to watch the trio's performance.

 

Pocket Performance: Tamar Ilana

 

Toronto-based singer and Flamenco dancer Tamar Ilana bridges continents, centuries, and styles of performance in her art. See her hypnotizing #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance by clicking on the video below.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

FEARLESS! Spotify Mixtape

Celebrate your own little victories and quiet acts of bravery with the Museum’s FEARLESS! Spotify Mixtape. The featured artists tell stories of courage through their music, whether paying tribute to the fearless from history, or writing their own songs of protest. Explore different meanings of bravery through the music of Ukrainian superstars DakhaBrakha, Malian guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedy, and New York soul-jazz-hip hop alchemists Burnt Sugar, and others.

 

Go here to listen to the Museum's FEARLESS! Spotify Mixtape. 

 

Photograph by Ali Manji.

 

Pocket Performance: Tichaona Daniel Maredza

 

For Saturday’s #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance, Zimbabwean musician and composer Tichaona Daniel Maredza will brighten your day with warm, lilting melodies from his country of birth. Click the video below to hear sounds of sunshine.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Concert: Gordon Grdina's The Marrow

 

Juno Award winner Gordon Grdina and his The Marrow ensemble astonished Museum audiences last spring with their muscular blend of Arabic maqam, Persian dastgah, and avant-garde jazz. Fast forward one year and we’ve made the concert, including highlights from openers Nazih Borish and Roberto Occhipinti, available online for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Gordon Grdina’s The Marrow at the Aga Khan Museum is presented with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. Openers Nazih Borish and Roberto Occhipinti are presented by TD Bank.

 

Pocket Performance: Aviva Chernick and Joel Schwartz

 

Aviva Chernick and Joel Schwartz were in separate locations when they recorded their intimate #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance — though you wouldn’t know it listening with your eyes closed.

Chernick is an award-winning singer, performing in Hebrew, Ladino, and English. She has been awarded the prestigious Virginia Folk Life apprenticeship and is a protegée of U.S.-based, Bosnian-Jewish singer Flory Jagoda. Schwartz is a guitarist, producer, and composer based in Toronto, and a unique voice in the Canadian and American music scenes. He specializes in electric guitar.

 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Sanctuary: Take Two Spotify Mix

 

Our second playlist inspired by the upcoming Sanctuary exhibition, the latest #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify Mixtape explores how feelings of belonging and place are experienced through sound. It showcases artists and songs that draw from cultural diasporas to look at traditional and contemporary approaches to identity. 

 

Some of the featured artists are long-established global icons, such as the U.K.’s Kate Bush. Others belong to a new generation of innovators, including The Paradise Bangkok Molam Band, who blend funk, jazz, and Afrobeat with traditional molam music from northern Thailand.

 

Engage sounds that challenges the boundaries of both geography and genre — go here to listen to the Museum’s Sanctuary: Take Two Spotify Mixtape today.

 

Image credit: Jeffrey Gibson; The Only Way Out is Through (detail); 2017; wool; 192 x 129.5 cm, from Sanctuary. 

 

Pocket Performance: Teiya Kasahara

 

Saturday’s Pocket Performance artist, Teiya Kasahara, merges opera, theatre, and the Japanese artform of taiko in their practice. Listen to their voice soar in this exclusive at-home concert for the #MuseumWithoutWalls.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Concert: Isaac Tovar’s Encuentro at the Aga Khan Museum

 

This weekend, enter the mystery of Encuentro, Isaac Tovar’s Fall 2019 show at the Museum. 

 

The captivating collaboration includes four Flamenco artists — a guitarist, a pianist, a percussionist, and a dancer. Immersed on stage in their individual art forms, they come to find each other’s rhythms, giving rise to the performance’s name, which is Spanish for “meeting.”

Encuentro, with openers Wen Zhao and Roman Smirnov, is presented with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Ahmed Moneka

 

Moskitto Bar singer Ahmed Moneka will bring a smile to your face with his filmed-at-home Pocket Performance for the #MuseumWithoutWalls. Sit back and be charmed by the Iraqi-raised musician’s whimsical jazz melodies, deeply felt Arabic vocals, and warm, easy banter.

 

Click the video below to watch Ahmed Moneka’s #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Home: Our Place in the Universe Spotify Mixtape

This week’s #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify Mixtape is all about the idea of home — finding home, leaving home, remembering home, celebrating home, and yes, creating home anew. This playlist features artists expressing in song their longing for their homelands, those who use music to navigate new countries and cultures, and singers who are regarded as the “voice of the nation” in their countries of birth.

 

Go here to listen to the Museum’s Home: Our Place in the Universe Spotify Mixtape.

 

Friday Night Concert: Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee at the Aga Khan Museum

 

For this week’s Friday Night Concert, we proudly present the sublime sitar sounds of Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee’s 2019 show at the Museum.

 

Delight in deep raags — and lighter melodies, too — from one of the premier practitioners of Indian classical music.

Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee at the Aga Khan Museum is an associate partnership with the Raag-Mala Society of Toronto. The performance is sponsored by the Gulshan and Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation, with additional support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Hasheel Lodhia

 

Thursday's #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance features the lilting vocals and delicate bansuri flute-playing of Hasheel Lodhia.

 

Lodhia’s pursuit of musical excellence has taken him to India, and he currently a senior student of the Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the legendary bansuri player. He has performed around the world and has contributed to numerous albums and film scores.

 

Click the video below to watch Hasheel Lodhia's scintillating Pocket Performance. 

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Pocket Performance: Sheniz Janmohamed

 

For her Pocket Performance at our #MuseumWithoutWalls, Sheniz Janmohamed leads you down an idyllic garden path with her spoken-word poetry. The Toronto-based wordsmith and educator has performed at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, the Vancouver Writers Fest in B.C., and at the Aga Khan Museum.

 

Click below to watch Janmohamed’s exclusive at-home reading for the Museum.

Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Friday Night Concert: Hayiran Ensemble

 

Our Friday Night Concert this week serves up a spellbinding fusion of Persian musical styles, from the traditional, to the deeply spiritual, to the sharply modern. Click the video below to enjoy a full-length recording of the Hayiran Ensemble’s February 2020 performance at the Museum.

 

Hayiran Ensemble at the Aga Khan Museum is presented in collaboration with Rumi Canada and sponsored by the Gulshan & Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation.

 

Pocket Performance: Maryem Tollar and Ernie Tollar

 

For their #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance, Egyptian-Canadian singer Maryem Tollar and husband and musical collaborator Ernie Tollar unsheathe Arabic and Sufi devotional songs — and bust out a few traditional instruments from their collection. Click the video below to see the duo’s at-home concert for yourself.

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Poetry Re-Imagined Mixtape

It’s Poetry Week at our #MuseumWithoutWalls. To celebrate, the Museum's Performing Arts team has compiled a playlist homing in on the intersections between song and verse. Lap up the sumptuous lyrics of singer-songwriters Leonard Cohen and Scott Walker. Marvel at how vocalists such Aditya Prakan, the expressive American-born singer of Indian classical, infuse the pace and rhythm of spoken language into their performance. And hear works by artists who've performed at the Museum, including Tanya Evanson and Kamancello.

 

Go here to listen to the soulful words and sounds of the Museum’s Poetry Re-imagined Spotify Mixtape.

 

Pocket Performance: Bea Labikova

 

For her #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance, musician Bea Labikova stitches together Slovak folk traditions, electronic loops, and free improvisation to create a sonic quilt all her own.

 

Click the video below to watch musician Bea Labikova's at-home concert, which she filmed specially for the Museum.

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

Concert of the Week: Emel Mathlouthi at the Aga Khan Museum

 

Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi stormed the Museum stage last fall with her soaring vocals, pulsating electronic rhythms, and jaw-dropping on-screen visuals. We’ve made highlights from her concert — along with clips of show-openers the Al Qahwa Ensemble — available for your viewing pleasure. 

Emel Mathlouthi at the Aga Khan Museum is presented in collaboration with Collective Concerts and the Arab Institute, with support from the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Pocket Performance: Wen Zhao

 

For her #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance, Wen Zhao transports us back to Chinese imperial dynasties of centuries ago. A master of the pipa, a lute-like string instrument that has existed for around 2,000 years, she mesmerizes with haunting tones and stirring melodies that would have entertained emperors and their courtiers.

 

Born in Beijing, Wen now teaches pipa at the Royal Conservatory of Music and York University in Toronto. She has been a fixture at music festivals worldwide, and her solo performances have featured on the CBC, the BBC, and on major broadcast programs in the U.S.

 

Click the video below to watch Wen Zhao’s Pocket Performance.

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Chrysalis Mixtape

The portrait series Chrysalis, by artist and photographer Olga Stefatou, introduces viewers to 11 women who fled their countries of birth in search of a better life. Each woman’s story is different, owing to the unique forces that caused her to uproot her life, flee to Europe and eventually cross paths with Stefatou.

 

Much like Chrysalis, this week’s #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify Mixtape is a nod to the resourcefulness and individuality of migrant women. It proffers tracks by first- and second-generation musicians, including several based in Canada. Many of the featured artists fold languages and traditions from their families’ ancestral homelands into American jazz or hip hop, inventing musical convections that sound both timeless and startlingly fresh.

 

Pocket Performance: Majd Sekkar

 

Originally from Syria, clarinettist Majd Sekkar is prolific musician in Toronto, performing in various ensembles such as Moskitto Bar and Moneka Arabic jazz. Trained in maqam, jazz, and Western classical music, he weaves together disparate styles and traditions with his intricate playing.

 

Click the video below to watch Majd Sekkar’s Pocket Performance, filmed specially for the Museum community.

 

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

Yemen Blues Plays Hallel

 

Layering Yemeni-Jewish culture on top of Afro-funk beats, Yemen Blues hypnotizes audiences with a sound as spiritual as it is groovy. Watch the video below to relive the magic of the nine-piece’s October 2019 concert at the Museum.

Yemen Blues Plays Hallel is supported by the Gulshan & Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation, with support from the Government of Canada and the Ontario Arts Council.

 

Go here to listen to the Museum’s Chrysalis Spotify Mixtape.

 

Pocket Performance: Paromita Kar

 

For the latest #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performance, Toronto-based dancer and choreographer Paromita Kar leads you on journey to the north Indian state of Rajasthan. From the safety of her home, she introduces viewers to traditional dances, music, and stories from the culture-rich region. Click the video below to embark on your adventure.

 

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

 

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From Mixtape

The exhibition Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From was the inspiration for this #MuseumWithoutWalls Spotify Mixtape assembled by our Performing Team. Like Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, the playlist spotlights artists from around the world. Many are immigrants or the children of immigrants, and they all draw inspiration and identity from multiple cultural backgrounds. When you listen, you’ll hear diverse musical flavours and traditions in sonic dialogue with each other — a layered intercultural call and response encapsulated in every song.

 

Go here to listen to the Museum's Don't Ask Me Where I'm From Spotify Mixtape. 

 

Original music for Sanctuary by Afghan-American rebab master Qais Essar

 

In preparing for the Sanctuary exhibition, the Aga Khan Museum commissioned Afghan-American rebab master Qais Essar to construct a sonic landscape for visitors touring the space. He composed a three-movement score for the exhibition, with each movement tying into a different approach to the theme of "sanctuary." 

 

Listen below to "Universal Sanctuary," the third movement from Essar's Sanctuaries suite.

 

 

Pocket Performance: Carmen Romero and Bageshree Vaze

 

Every Wednesday, we host free Pop-Up Performances featuring local artists and a diverse tapestry of sounds from around the world.

 

With the Museum’s doors temporarily closed, we are transporting the experience online with weekly Pocket Performances for you to enjoy.

 

This week, surrender to the rhythms of this performance of flamenco and Kathak dance by award-winning artists Carmen Romero and Bageshree Vaze — filmed live at the Museum in 2019.

 

Our #MuseumWithoutWalls Pocket Performances are presented by TD Bank Group.

 

 

Sanctuary Mixtape

Inspired by the Museum’s upcoming Sanctuary exhibition, this Spotify playlist is all about finding solace, safe haven, freedom, and belonging. Each selection touches on the theme in its own distinct way. Some tunes in this world-spanning collection look at sanctuary through a highly intimate, personal lens — reminding us that safe haven is not just a place. It can found in spiritual practice, a trusted confidante, a favourite pastime, or even in a song.

 

Go here to listen to the Museum's Sanctuary Spotify Mixtape. 

 

Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad Qawwali Ensemble

On Monday, March 16, the legendary Pakistani ensemble performed a concert that was livestreamed around the world. Watch first half of the concert below, and share the video with people you know!

 

The concert was originally to be hosted at the Aga Khan Museum, co-produced with the Kabir Center for Arts & Culture and sponsored by the Gulshan and Pyarali G. Nanji Family Foundation, with support from the Ontario Arts Council. We worked with our partners at Small World Music Society to stream a special performance by the group for an international audience.

 

Known as “the path of the heart,” Qawwali expresses the fervent devotion of the great Sufi mystics. The music begins by drawing the audience in with a meditative rhythm of chants, melodies, and percussion. Steadily, the rhythm builds, reaching ecstatic peaks that transport both musicians and listeners closer to the divine.

 

Watch Part 1: 

Watch Part 2: