Gordon Grdina's RU'YA feat. Ghalia Benali
Schedule
Sat, 01 Nov, 2025 at 08:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
Aga Khan Museum | Toronto, ON
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Experience RU’YA Ensemble — a world-premiere ensemble blending music and poetry through a fusion of jazz, Persian classical, and Arabic maqam, featuring the voices of Ghalia Benali, Elias Stemeseder, Eylem Basaldi, Hamin Honari, and Christian Lillinger.Led by guitarist and oud player Gordon Grdina, RU’YA — meaning “foresight” or “vision” in Arabic — brings together diverse musical traditions in a program that celebrates each musician’s unique voice. Building on 20 years of exploration since Grdina’s debut album Think Like the Waves, the ensemble combines contemporary jazz with elements of Persian and Arabic classical music, creating a boundary-defying cross-cultural sound.
Inspired by Ghalia Benali’s belief that poets are the true chroniclers of human emotion, RU’YA transforms poetic texts into universal artistic forms. The ensemble demonstrates how music and poetry can transcend borders, connect audiences across cultures, and honour our roots while speaking a shared language of humanity, emotion, and beauty.
RU’YA is a unique musical experience that celebrates artistic collaboration, cultural fusion, and the power of storytelling through music, making it one of the most innovative world music ensembles of its time.
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Where is it happening?
Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive,Toronto, Ontario, CanadaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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