Geneva, Switzerland, 21 June 2022 – On the occasion of World Music Day, the Aga Khan Music Awards today announced the seven members of the Master Jury for the 2020-2022 Awards cycle. The Awards, which come with US$ 500,000 in prizes, recognise and further develop exceptional creativity, promise and enterprise in music performance, creation, education, preservation and revitalisation in societies across the world in which Muslims have a significant presence.

The Master Jury is composed of eminent performing artists, music creators and cultural leaders from seven countries across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and North America. Collectively, their high achievement and expertise in a broad range of fields admirably complements the talent and diversity of nominees for the Awards.

The Master Jury is scheduled to meet in Lisbon in early July to select winners and finalists from a field of several hundred candidates put forward by a worldwide group of nominators and subsequently vetted by the Music Awards secretariat.

The Master Jury members are:

Her Excellency Shaikha Hala Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director General of the Culture and Arts Directorate, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities; Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, composer and pianist who creates music inspired by the traditions of Azerbaijani mugham and Sufi poetry; Divya Bhatia, Artistic Director and Producer, Rajasthan International Folk Festival; Rachel Cooper, Director of Global Performing Arts and Culture as Diplomacy Initiatives, Asia Society; Yurdal Tokcan, oud and guitar player, composer and ensemble leader who brings stylistic innovations to older traditions of Turkish music; and Dhafer Youssef, Tunisian oud master, vocalist and composer known for his visionary explorations of jazz, avant-garde and world music.

Full profiles of the Master Jury members are available here.

The Aga Khan Music Awards are governed by a Steering Committee co-chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan and his brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan. Other members of the committee are:

Ara Guzelimian, Special Advisor, Provost Emeritus, The Juilliard School; Artistic and Executive Director, Ojai Music Festival; Sir Jonathan Mills, Director, Edinburgh International Culture Summit; Joseph Melillo, Executive Producer Emeritus, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); Salima Hashmi, Professor Emeritus, Beaconhouse National University; Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, University of Central Asia (UCA); and Zeyba Rahman, Senior Program Officer, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

For more information, please contact:

Semin Abdulla

semin.abdulla@akdn.org