Mohamed is a seasoned performer who tours across the globe, presenting his solo work as well as collaborating with diverse musical ensembles. He has performed with orchestras, string quartets, hip hop artists, DJs, world music ensembles, jazz artists and Indian classical artists. Mohamed has been invited to present his music to royalty and heads of state, including the Governor General of Canada, Royal Family of Dubai and HRH Prince Karim Aga Khan.
Performances
As a soloist, Mohamed takes audiences on an enthralling and emotive journey into the fascinating musical world of Hindustani Classical music – the musical tradition of Northern India and Pakistan. Mohamed also has a passion for Sufi and folk music of the region.
Listen
Mohamed regularly collaborates with numerous musicians and ensembles and is always keen to expand his musical horizons. Here are some examples of his past collaborations.
Listen
Indus – Acoustic World Music Quartet
Big World Band – World Music String Ensemble
‘Sun Fell Softly” – Original Piece for Sitar & String Quartet
Featured Project
Commissioned Music for
His Highness the Aga Khan
In December 2016, nineteen artists were hand-picked from around the world to work on a unique collaborative musical piece in honour of the Aga Khan’s eightieth birthday. (The Aga Khan, Prince Shah Karim Al-Husseini, is the imam or spiritual leader of 25 million Ismaili Muslims around the world and a widely respected global leader). The resulting piece was collaboratively composed over eight days in Aiglemont, France and performed live at the Aga Khan’s birthday celebration. It was also broadcast to 15 million Ismaili Muslims around the world.
I was one of the artists invited to work on this collaboration and I played a lead role in composing and arranging the piece. Other artists came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Canada, Tajikistan and Germany. One of the Aga Khan’s strongest commitments is to promoting pluralism and the piece was intended to celebrate this commitment. It was a challenge to showcase such a diverse array of instruments and musical styles as a unified voice, but I am proud of what we achieved. It was an honour to be with such talented and wonderful musicians and to have the opportunity to work together to contribute to this momentous occasion.
Featured Project
Morning Raga
One of the unique characteristics of Indian music is the assignment of definite times of the day and night for performing Ragas (modes/melodies). It is believed that the Raga can only appear at the height of its melodic beauty if played at the right time of day. Since most concerts take place in the evening, audiences rarely have a chance to listen to morning ragas, thus missing out on a huge repertoire of outstanding compositions.
I shared this fact with Sirish Rao, Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Indian Summer Festival, as well as my desire to perform this repertoire. In July 2016, the festival agreed to mount a Morning Raga performance in the beautiful courtyard garden of the Ismaili Centre Burnaby.
Accompanied by tabla player Amarjeet Singh, I explained the concept of morning raga to audiences and performed Raag Gujri Todi. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to showcase some of the lesser known ragas in a unique setting.