Music as a gateway to something beyond - an entry point for discovery and learning about unfamiliar cultures.
These are the aspirations of a pair of Christchurch musicians before they take to the stage with a host of local and international performers, as part of the five-year commemoration of the 2019 mosque shootings.
The Beyond Words concert will see the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) joining forces with both locally-based and international artists and composers, upheld as a "coming together" of musical traditions from the East and West.
Part of the line up are music tutors Esmail Fathi and Liam Oliver, both of who founded Christchurch's Simurgh Music School two years ago.
The centre's musicians teach a wide range of traditional Persian instruments, and other instruments from the Middle East and Central Asia, including the daf, tonbak, setar and oud.
Esmail Fathi and Liam Oliver. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The pair - who admit to feeling a "nervous excitement" - said the performance would be a once in a lifetime musical event for patrons.
"This is the biggest thing I've experienced musically," Fathi said.
The Iranian-born multi-instrumentalist and vocalist typically performs Persian music with ensemble groups no bigger than 10 people.
For Beyond Words, Fathi and Oliver will be joined on stage by fellow musician and singer Abdelilah Rharrabti, a survivor of the 15 March attacks.
They will perform 'Hasbi Rabbi', a traditional work that Christchurch composer Hamish Oliver has arranged for both the trio and the NZSO.
"We've selected a traditional Islamic piece which has lyrics in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, it's a piece which is known all around the Islamic world," Liam Oliver said.
"That's something that both Esmail and Abdelilah can both sing in their respective languages.
"Hamish arranged this traditional Islamic song into something that was orchestra ready, but that also fit within our capabilities."
Although meshing the customary traditions of Western orchestra with the more "freeform, improvisational" elements of Arabic territories required some compromise at both ends, there is a consensus the universal language of music was the most natural way to "bridge cultures".
"Us in the group, we might disagree on so many things, in terms of ideology, religion, but when it comes to the music we love each other," Fathi said.
Oliver said he hoped the series of concerts would provide a gateway for people to learn about cultures and instruments they've never encountered before.
Esmail Fathi Iranian-born multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Esmail Fathi typically performs Persian music with ensemble groups. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Thursday night's showcase at the Christchurch Town Hall is the first of three performances, ahead of additional shows at Wellington's Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts and the Auckland Arts Festival this weekend.
The proceedings will include the first-ever performance of the piece 'Ahlan wa Sahlan', a collaboration between lauded New Zealand-Greek composer John Psathas, Morrocan singer-songwriter Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui, and Greek oud player Kyriakos Tapakis,
Psathas described the ocassion as a rare opportunity to "offer a message of solidarity, love, and compassion through one's artistic work".
Oud player Kyriakos Tapakis. Photo: NZSO
"This is a rare gift from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and I am even more fortunate to be able to share this creative journey with two fellow artists: OUM and one of Greece's most celebrated oud performers, Kyriakos Tapakis.
"Together we are creating a musical message of welcoming - Ahlan wa Sahlan - a greeting used to tell someone that they're where they belong, that they're a part of this place and they are welcome here. It's a way of saying 'You're with your people'."
Forty-five-year-old Benessahraoui, who goes by the stage name Oum, has recorded four studio albums, meshing Arabic and Islamic influences with afrobeat, jazz, soul and gospel.
The ensemble will be led by American conductor Fawzi Haimor.
Haimor told Morning Report the piece simply translates to "welcome".
"Imagine walking in the streets in the Middle East, or North Africa, and you're in front of somebody's home, and they come out of their home.
"They would say something like 'Ahlan wa Sahlan'...'come to my house, it doesn't matter where you're from, your background, your religion, please come, let's have some coffee and get to know one another.'"
Patrons will also be treated to performances of solo works by Oum, Tapakis, and international composers Valerie Coleman, Reza Vali and Arvo Pärt.
A veteran Iranian-American composer, Vali will mix Western orchestration with Persian style for the debut performance of 'Funèbre'.
Commemorations will be augmented with a sequence of daytime and early evening community engagement events in the three main centres.
Several other events are scheduled for today, including a panel discussion with Beyond Words performers, and a workshop by the Simurgh Music School.
