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Qais Essar

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Qais Essar

Qais Essar is a contemporary Afghan-American composer, musician, and producer who channels his melodic designs through the rabab, a 2,500 year old instrument from Afghanistan. A rabab player and songwriter, Qais has toured extensively, sharing his new genre of music nationally and internationally.

Qais' first LP, The Green Language (2014), quickly became an Amazon #1 bestseller, followed by Tavern of Ruin (2016), and his 3rd album, The Ghost You Love Most (2018) to critical acclaim. In 2017, Qais was recruited by director Nora Twomey to compose an original piece, "The Crown Sleeps", for her Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated film, The Breadwinner (produced by Angelina Jolie), and this song earned him a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Original Song”. Qais continues to be featured in festivals and venues around the world including the Newport Folk Festival, SxSW, The Kennedy Center, Treefort Music Festival and more.

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KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

Giddha Boliyan

A popular folk dance of women in the Punjab, usually combined with Boliyan as the singing at Punjabi celebrations, festivals and weddings.

Hola Mohalla

A Sikh festival celebrating ancient martial arts and battle-dance.

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