Resonance of Grace: Sufi Music as a Bridge Between Art and Spirituality
Publication information:
Abstract
Performance: Resonance of Grace is a performance exploring Sufi music as a sacred and transformative art form. The performance illuminates how Sufi traditions dissolve boundaries between art and spirituality, using sound as a medium for transcendence and communal healing. Drawing from my early training in Quranic recitation and ongoing mentorship within a 700-year Qawwali lineage, I will contextualize these practices while briefly addressing their resilience in the face of coloniality and power dynamics, inspired by Carl Ernst’s scholarship. Designed for both in-person and virtual audiences, this performance fosters connections through music, inviting reflection on sacred traditions in contemporary contexts.
Presenter Biography
Raised in the Sufi city of Multan, Pakistan, Umer Piracha draws from the sacred oral traditions of Sufi music and a 700-year Qawwali lineage. Based in New York City, he has performed at Carnegie Hall and NPR, blending mysticism and contemporary elements to create transformative, meditative, and communal musical experiences.