In the Realm of Osman
Music from the Early Modern
Ottoman Empire and Beyond
Curated by Ronnie Malley
Friday, May 9 | 7:30pm
First Unitarian Church of Chicago
Saturday, May 10 | 7:30pm
The Newberry Library
Sunday, May 11 | 4:00pm
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
The Newberry Consort and Ronnie Malley present a program of varied musical traditions from the realm of Osman Ghazi, or Osman I, founder of the vast territory that would eventually be known as the Ottoman Empire. Originally performed at the Newberry Library and back by wildly popular demand, this program was inspired by the Tarih-i Yeni Dünya, or A History of the India of the West, an Ottoman manuscript dated around 1600. The Tarih relates stories of the explorations of Columbus, Cortés, Pizarro, and others, with commentary by Ottoman scholars. Illuminated hand-drawn maps and images from the Tarih are projected onto slides behind the musicians, and music is played on period instruments from the Ottoman Empire and beyond, including oud, sandouri, sackbut, nay, violin, percussion, and kanun.
Meet the Curator
Ronnie Malley is a multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, theatrical performer, producer, playwright, educator, and executive director of Intercultural Music Production. He specializes in various musical styles from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and medieval Spain and has performed with several global artists and ensembles including Allos Musica, Apollo’s Fire, Diwan al-Han, EMME, Huzam, Lamajamal, Lute Legends, Mucca Pazza, Newberry Consort, Picosa, Omar Offendum, Surabhi Ensemble, University of Chicago Middle East Music Ensemble, and Yves Francois & Rocambu Jazz. Ronnie has worked on award-winning theatrical plays, films, and TV series including The Band’s Visit (Broadway, Tony Awards, Grammy Awards), Mo (Netflix),The Jungle Book (Disney, Goodman Theatre), The New Mother (Eleva Singleton). He appears on numerous albums and has co-produced several works and staged productions including American Griot (Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award 2020), Little Syria, Ziryab, The Songbird of Andalusia, The Andalusian Trail, and On This Earth. Ronnie was the recipient of the 2023 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award. He holds a BA in Global Music Studies from DePaul University and a MA in Languages (Arabic and Hebrew) from the University of Chicago, where he is currently a PhD student in Ethnomusicology.
Meet the Artists
Naeif Rafeh • Nay