About

Nizami Qawwali is a traditional Sufi music ensemble rooted in the centuries-old Seniya Gharana school of classical music. The group is led by Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami, a 17th-generation master musician from Pakistan and descendant of the legendary Mian Tansen. The ensemble presents devotional Qawwali alongside classical and Sufi repertoire, emphasizing deep listening, poetic expression, and rhythmic vitality.

Ustad Nizami is a master of vocals, sitar, harmonium, and tabla, with decades of international performance experience. In 2008, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach music at the University of Texas at Austin and later founded the Nizami School of Music in Texas, which serves students worldwide.

Music

We perform Qawwali, a devotional music tradition from South Asia rooted in Sufi spirituality. Qawwali developed in the Indian subcontinent around the 13th century and is traditionally associated with Sufi shrines, poetry gatherings, and communal listening. It draws heavily from Hindustani classical music, using raga-based melodies, rhythmic cycles (taal), call-and-response vocals, harmonium, and hand percussion.

Historically, the form is closely linked to Amir Khusro, the legendary poet-musician who helped shape early Qawwali by blending Persian poetic forms with Indian musical systems. Over centuries, Qawwali evolved into a powerful, ecstatic performance tradition, reaching global audiences in the 20th century through artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Videos

Audio