The University at Albany Performing Arts Center, operating under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences, is pleased to present A Celebration of Rumi on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 7:30pm in the Recital Hall of the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown campus. The presentation is made possible through a partnership with the New York State Writers Institute, the Office of International Education and the Office of Multicultural Student Success along with support from University Auxiliary Services.

In the program, the 13th century Islamic poet and mystic is celebrated in music, sacred dance, song and spoken word. Regarded as the quintessential voice of love, compassion and tolerance for people of all faiths, Rumi’s poetry is read in both Farsi and English in this compelling and dramatic presentation that includes whirling dervishes and Sufi musicians.

Jelaluddin Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh (now part of Afghanistan) at the eastern edge of the Persian Empire. In his works, Rumi speaks about realizing the highest love. Though he was referring to a divine love, many of Rumi's "love poems" are also read for their deep insight into the ordinary love between human beings. Today, his poetry -- about love but also compassion, tolerance and wisdom -- is felt across the world as embracing all humanity and is perceived as a bridge across many faiths. Rumi also encouraged the creation of a community of Sufis, called Mevlevi, which has continued over the centuries to this day.

Performers in A Celebration of Rumi will include Peter Rogen and Amir Vahab who will recite the poetry of Rumi. Songs and musical accompaniment will be provided by Vahab, Arsalaan and Hafizullah on the Turkish nay flute, oud, tanbour, harp, bender frame drum and Persian daf snare drum. The sacred whirling prayer of the Sufis will also be performed in full costume. This performance is part of a tour that will also include Boston College, University of Massachusetts, SUNY Ulster, New York Open Center, The College of New Jersey, University of Maryland, George Washington University, Davidson College, Ringling College of Art & Design and Trinity Cathedral in Miami.

In the mid-eighties, Arsalaan was introduced to spiritual practice and, in 1990, he joined the Mevlevi Sufis. Along with pertinent Sufi teachings and practices, he began a lifelong study of their music - especially the nay reed flute and frame drum, and the music that accompanies the dances of the whirling dervishes. He has published one of the few books available in English on Turkish musical theory.

In 1976, at age 25, Hafizullah fell in love with "the Turn" - the whirling meditation of the Mevlevi Dervishes from Turkey. He is now a shaikh, an elder teacher and lineage-holder in the Sufi path, and teaches whirling meditation in his native Seattle.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Amir Vahab began his vocal studies at the age of four and was an accomplished musician by his late teens. Today, he is one of New York’s most celebrated and distinguished composer/vocalists of Persian sacred and folk music and has six albums to his credit. In his work, Vahab tries to illustrate the beauty of Iranian traditional music and attempts to take new approaches to traditional works in order to attract the young generation of music enthusiasts.

As a young man, Peter Rogen was awarded a Rockefeller Grant to Study in the American Theater and performed Shakespeare with the Helen Hayes Equity Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Later in life, Rogen turned to the study of Asian and Middle Eastern arts and culture. Upon hearing a live reading of Rumi's poetry by the American poet and Professor Coleman Barks, Rogen felt "an inner shift" in his spiritual life and a strong wish arose to help other people discover Rumi's mystical poetry. Since then, Peter has organized and performed in more than sixty "Rumi Celebrations" including a North American Tour with The Whirling Dervishes from Turkey. Performances have taken place at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bard College and Amherst College.

Admission for the performance is free but a ticket is required. For reservations and further information, contact the Box Office at (518) 442-3997 or visit the Performing Arts Center website at www.albany.edu/pac.

There will also be a special morning matinee performance on Thursday, October 22 at 10am for local high school students. Groups from Tech Valley, Schenectady, Tamarac and Ramapo High Schools will be in attendance.

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