Asia Society has announced the spring 2012 season of “Creative Voices of Muslim Asia”– a multidisciplinary series that celebrates the vivid and diverse ways in which Muslims in Asia express their creative voices at the beginning of the 21st century. Launched in 2008, the series aims to put art at the center of bridging the cultural divide between Americans and Asian Muslims, one that has too often been misrepresented in the mainstream media. In doing so, it highlights the artistry of individuals while exploring the cultural richness of the Muslim world.

Though Islam arose in the Middle East, over half of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims presently live in Asia. Creative Voices’ spring 2012 season will feature the musical voices of Islam, as varied as the cultures of Asia, with artists coming from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia. This season will also focus on innovation within tradition. Through improvisation and composition, the featured musicians and performers will demonstrate how one can enrich and expand the expressive power of a traditional musical form while respecting the taste and sensibility passed down from masters of the past.

Artists will include Hossein Alizadeh, one of the foremost figures in Persian contemporary classical music improvising with Pejman Hadadi (February 3); Homayun Sakhi, the outstanding Afghan rubâb player performing for the first time with sarod player Ken Zuckerman (March 3); Ki Purbo Asmoro, the revered puppeteer of wayang kulit (Javanese shadow-puppet theater) (March 16); and Arif Lohar, one of the world’s top five Pakistani folk and pop singers today (April 28).

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES:

All programs are held at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street, New York City). For updates and details, please visit http://asiasociety.org/arts/creative-voices-islam-asia or call 212-517-ASIA.

Friday, February 3, 8:00 p.m.
HOSSEIN ALIZADEH AND PEJMAN HADADI: MONAD
Improvisations in contemporary classical Persian music (Iran)
Asia Society’s Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium
$22 members; $26 seniors/students; $30 non members

Legendary Hossein Alizadeh, composer and tar and setar player, comes together with percussionist and tombak player Pejman Hadadi, renowned for his trail-blazing approach to rhythm, for an evening of meditative and impassioned contemporary improvisations in classical Persian music. As part of a North American and Canadian tour, this concert is inspired by the artists’ extraordinary collaboration on their recording Monad, released by Hermes records in 2009. The performance will focus on the art of improvisation, one of the key elements of this musical tradition, based on the artists feeling and innovation at the moment – in Farsi called “haal”.

Saturday, March 3, 8:00 p.m.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BABUR: HOMAYUN SAKHI (Afghanistan/India)
In conjunction with the exhibition, Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi (1707-1857), Asia Society Museum, February 7-May 6, 2012
Asia Society’s Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium
$22 members; $26 seniors/students; $30 non members

A local tradition of Hindustanu raga has existed in Kabul since the 1860s, when Amir Sher Ali Khan brought a number of classically trained musicians from India to perform at his court. The present-day avatar of this tradition is Homayun Sakhi, the greatest Afghan rubâb player of his generation. This concert pairs for the first time Homayun Sakhi with Brooklyn-based sarod player Ken Zuckerman, the leading disciple of the late Ali Akhbar Khan, and a consummate master in his own right. They will be joined by the young Afghan tabla virtuoso Salar Nader, a student of Zakir Hussain.

Friday, March 16, 8:00p.m.
WAYANG KULIT: Javanese Shadow-Puppet Theater (Indonesia)
Asia Society’s Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium
$22 members; $26 seniors/students with ID; $30 non-members

Performed by Ki Purbo Asmoro, dhalang (puppeteer)

Featuring a full Javanese Gamelan Orchestra (members from Gamelan Kusuma Laras, NYC and Mayangkar, Solo, Java)

English translations provided by Kathryn Emerson

This one-night only performance will offer New York City audiences the rare opportunity to experience a Javanese shadow-puppet drama with one of the most revered innovators in this traditional art form. Ki Purbo Asmoro combines the skill of a master, the voice of a poet, and the energy of a rock star. His performances often attract audiences of thousands in Java, where he is celebrated for his ability to inject ancient narratives with contemporary debates and topical humor. The informal atmosphere of the three-hour performance will invite audiences to move around and see the show from both sides of the kelir or shadow screen. (Preceded by 20 minutes of welcoming music).

Saturday, April 28, 8:00p.m.
ARIF LOHAR
New Sufi music of Pakistan Punjab (Pakistan)
Asia Society’s Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium
$22 members; $26 seniors/students with ID; $30 non-members

One of Pakistan’s music stars, Arif Lohar comes from a small village in the province of Punjab and followed the footsteps of his father, the famous Pakistani folk singer, Alam Lohar. In 2010, his album Jugni Coke Studio became a smash hit in Pakistan, leading him to be hailed as a top Punjabi folk and pop artists. Lohar captures the sights and sounds of modern Pakistani culture through contemporized versions of traditional Punjabi songs which mix pop and folk styles. For his NY performance he will perform on his beloved chimia (a traditional percussion instrument resembling tongs) and be backed by an ensemble of talented Pakistani musicians.

Major support for “Creative Voices of Muslim Asia” has been provided from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, with additional support from the Malaysian Government, Sapura, and Sime Darby.

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonprofit nonpartisan educational institution. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in the work of Asian and Asian American artists, and in both traditional and contemporary Asian art and in Asia today. Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City. www.AsiaSociety.org