How Did we Start?
Once Upon a Time
For many years in the United States, my husband Emad and I believed that classical Arabic music had become unattainable. We often wondered: could it be that both the older and current generations have lost interest in this rich emotional musical cultural heritage just because we live in a different place?
Music brought my husband and me t
For many years in the United States, my husband Emad and I believed that classical Arabic music had become unattainable. We often wondered: could it be that both the older and current generations have lost interest in this rich emotional musical cultural heritage just because we live in a different place?
Music brought my husband and me together. This is how we met, how I fell in love , and how we got married! We began hosting home music sessions, gathering friends, musicians, poetry enthusiasts, and art lovers. Gradually, these sessions turned into a meeting point in the Washington D.C, Virginia, and Maryland area. They began growing with successive invitations from friends to their friends at our home, and soon it became a true musical gathering with its audience.
We noticed something special in those gatherings – the community around us enjoyed reviving these classics, but what was even more intriguing was the curiosity of their Non-Arab friends to discover this artistic heritage. They would always ask: What are you singing? Why does it feel like a collective musical ritual? And why is everyone in such a state of euphoria and artistic intoxication? But because the songs were in Arabic, they had no way of understanding the full meanings and engaging fully with the atmosphere, although the melodies captivated many of them.
At that point, we decided to transform these gatherings into an open musical platform for everyone – Arabs in the diaspora and the Americans around them, whether they were colleagues, friends, or even life partners. We wanted "Torath" (Heritage) to be a cultural bridge with no linguistic boundaries, speaking the universal language of music and giving foreign audiences a real opportunity to understand the songs and atmosphere by providing professional translations in English.
__________
The First Official Concert... And the Beginning of the Dream!
We launched our first concert at the Alexandria Museum in Virginia, with no funding or capital, just my husband and I , without any massive advertisements—just paper flyers that I personally distributed over the course of two months at Arab shops, cafes, restaurants, and bookstores. We didn’t know what to expect, but the surprise was that all the tickets sold out within two weeks!
Torath received dozens of messages via Instagram and my personal phone from people asking for additional tickets to attend the concert. When the long-awaited night arrived, the hall was filled to capacity, with Arabs longing for authentic music and Americans who came to discover this enchanting art.
After the concert, a woman in her fifties came up to my husband Emad, still moved by the music, and said:
“We’ve been tired of listening to these songs on YouTube for years… The best part of this concert is that we finally experienced live music, as if we were in a different time and place, right here in the DMV area!”
In that moment, we were sure that classical Arabic music had not died in the diaspora. It remained in the minds and hearts of the immigrants, and it just needed someone to bring it back to life, on stage, with its original spirit, live voices, and true musical joy. And so... Turath was born!
Aya Aljamili- Director & Curator of Torath