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Article Posted • 11 Nov 2022

UK’s first polyphonic Nasheed Choir at Bradford Cathedral

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On Saturday 29 October, The Bradford Nasheed Choir launched to a jam-packed audience at Bradford Cathedral. 24 boys aged 6 – 16 headlined the sold-out event with brilliant success. We couldn’t have been more proud!

Over the course of four months, the Amal-supported project trained the boys to come together to sing Nasheed with a difference – singing polyphonically, in three-part harmony. Combining Nasheed and choral harmonic music, The Nasheed Choir brought something entirely new to our Bradford audience and it was amazing to see so many Muslim families turn out in support of the boys, filling the stunning Bradford Cathedral to maximum capacity!

Singing Nasheeds polyphonically combines different aspects of the boys’ identities – Muslim, British and South Asian - and enables them to celebrate and express their identities confidently and through song. Sharing that journey with families and the wider community felt like an important moment. Thank you to Hussnain Hanif, Julian Evans and Ismaeel Hanif for bringing this unique opportunity to communities in Bradford, to Bradford Cathedral for hosting us and to everyone who came in support on the night!

Check out our YouTube channel to watch the BBC’s coverage of the Nasheed Choir.

Forming Part of

Amal’s Co-created Projects

This project is part of Amal’s Co-created Projects programme.  We support high-quality arts projects that are co-created by Muslims and creative professionals and showcased within the wider community. These provide Muslims with opportunities they would not otherwise have to express their creativity in ways that matter to them.  By enabling experimentation between Muslim artists and communities, these projects model ways in which the UK’s arts and cultural mainstream could more fully and authentically represent and engage Muslims as individuals and communities.