Muscat – The opening ceremony included a number of events, the most important of which was a presentation by Dr. Firoz Nichanova, Director of the Aga Khan Music Program, and the screening of several films that presented a vision of the honored artists’ – Omani musician Muslim bin Ahmed Al Kathiri and Indian Zakir Hussain – service to music in the world and the Arab region.

H.E. Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moussawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, gave a speech on the occasion, wherein he pointed out that the Sultanate of Oman is taking appreciable efforts to make culture a common denominator among people by introducing the world to its richness of cultural knowledge through activities that are established in cooperation with community institutions.  

He added that Oman’s hosting of the second edition of the Aga Khan Music Awards comes within the framework of building bridges of communication and links between the various peoples of the world and enhancing joint cooperation by activating channels of cultural communication at all official and societal levels

He explained that the musical heritage of the Sultanate of Oman dates back to the prehistoric period through the oldest musical instrument discovered at the archaeological site of Ras Al Hadd, which can be seen in the National Museum, indicating the importance that the Sultanate of Oman attaches to musical experience.

He pointed out that music is a universal language, spoken by all people and understood by all without any trouble or hardship. “Through it, people unite and the foundations of civilized dialogue mingle. Through it, we seek to highlight the role of the Sultanate of Oman and its Omani vocabulary, and the diversity and rich patterns of knowledge and civilization,” he said.

Amyn Aga Khan, Chairman of the Aga Khan Foundation, said, “Our presence in the Sultanate of Oman has a deep symbolic dimension, as it celebrates not only inspiring artistic and academic creativity, but also the resilience of music and musicians in difficult times. Eastern and Western cultures are an opportunity for convergence, witnessed by this wonderful architectural edifice that brings us together here now.

“The winners, who have all been chosen for the awards this year, have demonstrated a strong commitment to social service of all kinds, foremost among them the educational work,” he said.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Indian Zakir Hussain, and a special Lifetime Achievement award was given in recognition of his outstanding example of cross-cultural enlightened music that has raised its profile in India and around the world through concert tours, commissions, recordings and dozens of films.

Zakir Hussain, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, said he had visited Oman in 1976 and that he is happy to come again and see a lot of changes. According to him, what the award does is that it gives the winner a moral boost, showing him that he is on the right path and that he must continue on this approach in an attempt to reach perfection.

Indonesian Benny Kandra Winni, who is one of the recipients of the Aga Khan Award for Music, said that the award is very meaningful for her as it is the first time she has been honored to win an award on a global level.

It should be noted that the Aga Khan Award for Music was established by the Aga Khan in 2018 and is administered by a Steering Committee co-chaired by the Aga Khan and his brother Amin Aga Khan. Sir Jonathan Mills, Director of the Edinburgh Summit on International Culture, Joseph Melillo, Executive Producer and Honorary Professor, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Salima Hashemi, Professor Emeritus at National Beaconhouse University, Shems Kassem Laka, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia (UCA) and Zhiba Rahman, Senior Program Officer at the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts

The Aga Khan Music Program brings together all the activities of the Aga Khan Music Initiative and the Aga Khan Music Awards, as well as the management of the Music Awards. The Program consists of four interrelated areas: education and direction, creativity and performance, production, documentation and publishing, online projects and digital archives.