John Psathas, Oum el Ghait, Kyriakos Tapakis Ahlan wa Sahlan

Fawzi Haimor Conductor
OUM Vocalist
Kyriakos Tapakis Oud

Commissioned after consultation with Aotearoa New Zealand’s Muslim community and in light of the fifth anniversary of the tragic Christchurch shootings, Ahlan wa Sahlan is symbolically and emotionally a bridge across divides, a reaching out, an honouring and, above all, an embrace. It’s in this spirit that John Psathas worked with Moroccan singer Oum and Cypriot oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis to co-create this moving work.

Psathas' hope is that Ahlan wa Sahlan can “remind us what it feels like to be our best selves” by allowing us – tangata whenua and tangata tauiwi, Muslim and non-Muslim, audience and performers – to share an experience that binds us all in aroha.