'Understanding Qur'anic Recitation: A View from Granada, Spain' with Ali Keeler

In this session, Ali Keeler introduces us to the sonic world of Qur’anic recitation and the call to prayer. Drawing on his rich experience and training in Syria as a singer and expert in Qur’anic recitation, Ali gives an in-depth insight into the art of the muezzin. Ali also tells us about his spiritual and musical journey from the UK, to Syria, to his adopted home in Granada.

Biography
Ali Keeler was born in London in 1973 and started learning the violin at the age of seven. In 1991, he went on to study classical violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, where he gained experience playing in a string quartet. He moved to Damascus in Syria in 1998, where he learnt to sing within the tradition of the maqam in the zawiyas of Damascus and Aleppo. Applying his musical experience within the Arabic tradition to the violin, he has developed a varied repertoire of Celtic, Arabic, Andalusi and Turkish pieces. He moved to Granada in 2006 where he met and worked with other sufi musicians. In 2012 he founded Al Firdaus Ensemble with musicians from Spain, Morocco and Venezuela, and the group has recorded three albums.