Windows Pre-Concert Event:
The Qawwali Effect: Why This 750-Year-Old Tradition Still Moves the World
Curated in partnership with District of Raga
Access to this event is free with your ticket to The Orchestral Qawwali Project.
Register & Arrive Early
Seating will be open for registrants from 2-2:20pm. At 2:20pm, unclaimed seats will be released to a standby line.
Qawwali has transcended borders through its powerful fusion of poetry, music, and spiritual expression. As The Orchestral Qawwali Project makes its U.S. premiere, join us for a pre-concert conversation exploring the rich history, enduring cultural significance, and remarkable global reach of this centuries-old tradition. Together, the panel will examine how qawwali has evolved while remaining rooted in its devotional origins, exploring themes of tradition and innovation, cultural transmission, and the timeless qualities that continue to move audiences across cultures and generations.
This event is part of Strathmore’s Windows series of performances and accompanying programs. Learn more
MEET THE PANELISTS
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Aisha Imam is the founder and executive director of Reed Society for the Sacred Arts, a Bethesda, Maryland–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing the sacred arts through education, performance, and community engagement.
Under her leadership, the organization has launched signature programs including Sufi Sama Sundays (2022), the Sufi Music Festival (2023), Music for the Eyes (2025) and Islamic Soundscapes (2026). She also founded the National Sufi Ensemble, a Washington, D.C.–based collective of Sufi and Qawwali musicians led by acclaimed Indian vocalist and maestro Dhruv Sangari. The multi-faith ensemble performs traditional South Asian Sufi devotional music, poetry, and sama, creating opportunities for intercultural dialogue and contemplative artistic experiences. In 2023, Reed Society presented the ensemble at SXSW.
In addition to her leadership in the arts, Aisha is an aspiring Arabic script calligrapher. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and their four daughters.
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Nermeen Arastu is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Immigrant & Non-Citizen Rights Clinic at CUNY School of Law. Alongside her scholarship on immigration and human rights, she collaborates with The Saami Family of the Delhi Gharana to support the preservation and transmission of their 750-year-old lineage of khayal and qawwali. She has helped develop performances, immersive educational residencies, and cultural partnerships across the United States and Pakistan, exploring how artistic traditions are transmitted across generations and borders, and how music serves as a living archive of memory, devotion, and cultural heritage.
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Dr. Rizwan Jagani is a South Asian American violist educator, and composer who reimagines what the viola can do by bridging Western classical training with Indian, Pakistani, Musical Theatre, Pop, and other genres.
A proud performer with the International Pride Orchestra, he has collaborated with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Demarre McGill, Ari Afsar, Burna Boy, and the Indigo Girls, and has performed at iconic venues including the Kennedy Center and Strathmore.
A passionate advocate for arts education in the South Asian diaspora, Dr. Jagani maintains an international career, traveling frequently to Pakistan and Austria tor concerts and lectures, and was selected as a United States delegate to the 2025 World Culture Festival hosted by the Arts Council of Pakistan-Karachi.