The New York-based Riwaya Ensemble considers themselves storytellers. The name of the composer-led chamber ensemble is an Arabic word meaning “narration” or “story,” and their mission is to “bridge traditions and create a harmonious dialogue between past and present, fostering an environment of artistic excellence and cross-cultural exchange.”
Since their founding in 2023, Riwaya Ensemble has highlighted Middle Eastern composers and music through contemporary classical chamber music performances. Their current members are composer Sami Seif, violist Noémie Chemali, violinist Shahleah Feinstein, clarinetist Amer Hasan, cellist Raffi Boden, and flutist Maron Anis Khoury. Through their work, they have raised funds for humanitarian efforts benefitting organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and SEAL (Social and Economic Action for Lebanon) in collaboration with Egyptian-American neo-soul artist Felukah.
This fall, the ensemble has performed at the Palestine Museum US, Yale’s MENA Cultural Center, and the CUNY Graduate Center. In their performances, the group hopes to bring about greater appreciation for Middle Eastern music and increased inclusion for the Arab diaspora around the globe. At one of their recent concerts held at DiMenna Center for Classical Music in NYC earlier this year, their performance included taqism, an improvisation within the Arabic maqam system of melodic modes that is meant to create a type of musical ecstasy. And last month at CUNY, they performed a program of works by Kinan Azmeh, Sami Seif, Bushra El-Turk, and Kareem Roustom.
After a busy few months of performing, we asked Riwaya Ensemble five questions about the origin of the group and their mission.
Where did you all meet, and what inspired you to form your ensemble?
We initially met online after clarinetist Amer Hasan and violist Noémie Chemali reached out to composer Sami Seif with individual collaboration requests. After realizing we shared such similar missions as artists, Sami introduced us to each other, and our ensemble was born from this shared connection. The foundation of our ensemble was inspired by a desire to advocate for composers from the Middle East and North Africa, a region whose music is often overlooked in classical music concert halls. Riwaya’s mission is to amplify these underrepresented voices and showcase the region’s rich cultural legacy. Ultimately, we are committed to ensuring that contemporary Middle Eastern music is performed, heard, and celebrated.
How does being a composer-led ensemble benefit your individual performances and your collective work as a group?
Being a composer-led ensemble enables us to build a closer, more dynamic connection with the music, with each other, and with the composers we collaborate with. This is especially important when working with Middle Eastern music, which has its own set of musical traditions and nuances that are often unfamiliar to Western-trained musicians. Approaching these works through a composer-led process allows us to gain a more accurate and authentic understanding of the music’s intentions.
For example, in Middle Eastern music, the subtle tuning of quartertones is an essential element that cannot always be captured by traditional Western tuning systems. As a composer-led ensemble, we are able to work closely with the composers to fully understand the specificities of these techniques and integrate them into our performances in a way that honors their cultural and musical significance. This level of collaboration ensures that the music is presented with the depth, precision, and respect it deserves, rather than simply attempting to “fit” it into a Western classical framework.
Tell me more about your work with humanitarian organizations assisting people of the Middle East. What does it mean to you as individuals of Middle Eastern descent to provide this type of aid?
Our collaboration with humanitarian organizations reflects our connection to the challenges faced by individuals in the MENA region and the diaspora. Some of our partners are Médecins sans frontières (Doctors without Borders) and SEAL Lebanon, whose work to address issues like emergency medical care, displacement, systemic racism, and lack of access to resources. Partnering with them allows us to use our art to raise awareness and support these causes, and in turn, foster solidarity and hope through music. It is deeply important to us as an ensemble to create a platform that both celebrates the region’s cultural richness and addresses the pressing socio-political issues its people face.
Kinan Azmeh, Riwaya members Noémie Chemali, Sami Seif, Amer Hasan, and Raffi Boden — Photo by Dustin Lin
What do you most want audiences to understand about Middle Eastern music and its place in global contemporary classical music?
Middle Eastern music, much like the cultures and histories it comes from, is incredibly diverse. The Middle East is a region that spans many countries, ethnicities, languages, and traditions, each contributing unique musical styles and philosophies. However, this diversity is often obscured or oversimplified in mainstream media, which tends to either stereotype or generalize the region’s cultural output. Middle Eastern classical music is frequently reduced to a single, monolithic sound or aesthetic, disregarding the nuances, complexities, and variations that define it.
We hope to correct this misconception by showcasing a wide range of contemporary works that highlight the full breadth of the region’s musical landscape. While our upcoming album features music by composers from the Levantine diaspora, we see this as just the beginning of our journey. We aim to present a broader, more inclusive view of contemporary Middle Eastern music that reflects the diversity of styles and influences across the region, whether the composers draw from traditional folk melodies, classical forms, or experimental music.
We also believe it is important to acknowledge the lack of representation of Middle Eastern music in classical music concert halls, both in the U.S. and abroad, despite Western classical music institutions increasingly embracing global music influences. This underrepresentation is particularly notable (and noticeable) given the long history of Middle Eastern music’s influence on Western classical traditions — from the development of the violin, which traces its origins to the Middle Eastern rebab (and eventually the European rebec), to the Ottoman Empire’s influence on prominent European composers.
We aim to challenge this disparity by showing how Middle Eastern music not only fits within the global contemporary classical landscape but also contributes to it in meaningful, original ways. We want audiences to hear and see that Middle Eastern music is not an isolated or “exotic” entity; it is an integral part of our world’s musical fabric.
By performing the works of contemporary Middle Eastern composers, we demonstrate how their music can stand alongside other traditions while maintaining its distinctive identity. These compositions we performed and recorded this season are deeply rooted in cultural heritage, but they are also forward-thinking and evolving, engaging with contemporary themes, techniques, and ideas.
Ultimately, we want to change the narrative surrounding Middle Eastern music and show that it is a living, evolving art form that deserves equal recognition and appreciation in the world of contemporary classical music. We hope to inspire listeners to approach the music with curiosity and an open mind, encouraging them to listen beyond any preconceived notions and appreciate the innovation that Middle Eastern composers are bringing to the classical music world today.
Are there other facets of your individual ethnic cultures that you incorporate into the performance space presently, or ones that you intend to incorporate in future performances?
During our recent tour and album recording project, we had the privilege of working with an incredible group of musicians whose diverse backgrounds in performance shaped our sound and the way we approached the repertoire. Members of the Riwaya Ensemble also perform with traditional Arabic music groups, such as Detroit’s National Arab Orchestra, as well as Klezmer, jazz, classical, and contemporary ensembles.
This wide range of performing experiences allows us to approach modern repertoire from a unique perspective, as each work is viewed through multiple lenses—whether it’s the intricate ornamentation and improvisational freedom of Arabic and jazz music, or complex techniques of contemporary music. The result is a sound that is both innovative and deeply connected to the musical traditions we each carry with us. We are grateful for our members that have helped support us and our mission since the beginning, including cellist Raffi Boden and violinists Insia Malik, Shahleah Feinstein, and Charlotte Loukola.
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