The Aga Khan Music Programme today announced the eleven winners of the prestigious 2025 Aga Khan Music Awards, which will be held in the United Kingdom for the first time later this month.
The Awards honour individuals, groups, and institutions whose work sustains and reimagines living musical heritage shaped by Islam while promoting spiritual insight, community vitality, and cultural resilience.
Among this year’s laureates are the legendary khyal maestro Ustad Naseeruddin Saami and distinguished qawwals the Warsi Brothers; Bahrain’s Qalali Folk Band, which preserves the cultural memory of the nation’s pearl divers; Palestinian oud player and vocalist Kamilya Jubran, a trailblazer in contemporary Arabic music; and Iranian composer Sahba Aminikia, founder of the Flying Carpet Festival, which brings moments of joy to children in conflict zones.
In addition to a share of the prize fund, Aga Khan Music Awards recipients benefit from professional development opportunities including new commissions, recording projects, management support, and assistance for educational and preservation initiatives. In keeping with the Aga Khan Music Programme’s broader mission, the Awards aim to advance pluralism, tolerance, social cohesion and global understanding through music.
The winners will be celebrated on 22 November 2025 at London’s Southbank Centre, in an awards ceremony forming part of a four-day festival of music from the Great East, presented in partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival.
The laureates were selected by an independent seven-member Master Jury from an initial pool of more than 400 nominees. The international jury—comprising prominent performing artists, producers, and scholars—includes Malian singer-songwriter Oumou Sangaré, early music monarch Jordi Savall; Kronos Quartet founder and violinist David Harrington, Mumbai-based festival programmer and producer Divya Bhatia, Lebanese vocalist and musicologist Ghada Shbeir, Iranian music specialist Sasan Fatemi, and philanthropy executive and global arts leader Zeyba Rahman.
Speaking about the Music Awards, His Highness the Aga Khan said:
“I am honoured to carry forward a vision deeply rooted in my father’s belief in the power of music to bridge cultures and uplift the human spirit. The Aga Khan Music Awards reflect values that lie at the heart of the Aga Khan Development Network: pluralism, intercultural dialogue and the spiritual connection that communities around the world find in music. In many of the regions we serve, music is an integral part of daily life, woven into the rhythms of prayer, celebration, memory and identity. We continue to support artists and traditions that speak not only to heritage, but also to hope.”
Three laureates are being recognised with special awards:
Mariam Bagayoko, the 87-year-old Malian musician known as the ‘Nightingale of Bélédougou’, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong dedication to elevating and transmitting Mali’s musical heritage, particularly among women and girls.
The Patron’s Award, honouring the patronage of the Aga Khan family, will be presented to Naseer and Nazeer Ahmed Khan Warsi and to Naseeruddin Saami and his sons, who perform as the Saami Brothers.
Both the Warsi and Saami musical lineages trace their heritage to Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), the esteemed Sufi poet, musician, and visionary polymath who profoundly shaped the cultural history of South Asia. Credited with creating the qawwali and khyal traditions, Khusrau remains an enduring symbol of cultural pluralism. For over seven centuries, the music and poetry of his disciples have served as a force for harmony and connection, illustrating the power of art to unite communities across divides. The Warsi and Saami families today stand as the foremost exponents and guardians of Khusrau’s living legacy.
Full List of Winners of the 2025 Aga Khan Music Awards
Sahba Aminikia (Iran/USA) – Composer and social innovator Sahba Aminikia is the founder and artistic director of the Flying Carpet Festival, a multi-disciplinary travelling arts festival that brings together musicians, artists and educators to create moments of joy and healing for Syrian, Turkish and Kurdish children displaced by war and conflict. Established in 2018, the festival is based in Mardin, in southeastern Türkiye, which has absorbed tens of thousands of the more than 3.7 million Syrians who fled to Türkiye.
Mariam Bagayoko (Mali) – Singer, dancer, and instrumentalist known as the ‘Nightingale of Bélédougou’, Mariam Bagayoko hails from a region once part of the pre-colonial Bambara Empire, now in central Mali. Celebrated for her powerful vocal delivery and deep knowledge of traditional repertories, she is also a master of the n’goussounbala—a large balafon specific to Bélédougou. Through her mentorship of women and girls, she has played a vital role in sustaining Mali’s musical and dance traditions.
Senny Camara (Senegal) – A kora player, singer, and songwriter, Senny Camara offers a luminous and distinctly feminine voice within Senegal’s musical landscape. Her songs address themes of gender equality, environmental responsibility, and social justice. Singing in multiple regional languages and challenging the conventions of kora music, traditionally a male domain, Camara connects audiences across West Africa, its diaspora, and beyond.
Kamilya Jubran (Palestine/France) – A pioneering voice in contemporary Arabic music, Kamilya Jubran draws on her Palestinian roots to explore new creative directions and adventurous cross-cultural collaborations. Her acclaimed recordings include projects with Swiss composer Werner Hassler and French jazz bassist Sarah Murcia. As artistic director of Zamkana, a non-profit organisation, she supports emerging artists and champions freedom of expression.
Farah Kaddour (Lebanon) – Composer, performer, and scholar, Farah Kaddour has expanded the expressive potential of the buzuq, a long-necked fretted lute with ancient Middle Eastern origins. Her creative work is closely linked to her engagement with Action for Hope, a foundation that supports cultural development and humanitarian relief initiatives for communities displaced by war or poverty.
Kyriakos Kalaidzidis (Greece) – An oud player, composer, and scholar, Kyriakos Kalaidzidis illuminates the deep connections between Islamic and Euro-Mediterranean musical traditions. As co-founder and artistic director of the ensemble En Chordais, established in1993, he has championed research and performance of music from the Levant. Through his leadership of the MediMuses project, he promotes artistic, research, and educational collaborations across thirteen Mediterranean and European countries.
Hamid El Kasri (Morocco) – A singer, guembri player and maâlem (master musician) in the Gnawa tradition, Hamid El Kasri is dedicated to preserving and renewing Morocco’s musical heritage. Renowned for his powerful voice and charismatic performances, he has also forged adventurous collaborations with international artists including Austrian pianist Joe Zawinul, Brooklyn-based jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy, and British jazz fusion musician Jacob Collier, with whom he performed at the BBC Proms.
Qalali Folk Band (Bahrain) – Established over a century ago, the Qalali Folk Band is dedicated to performing and preserving Bahrain’s rich seafaring musical heritage. The ensemble is renowned for its renditions of sawt—a popular urban musical genre—and fijri, the traditional music of Bahrain’s pearl divers, which was on inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021.
Ustad Naseeruddin Saami (Pakistan) – A torchbearer of the Delhi gharana (hereditary lineage) of Hindustani music, Ustad Naseeruddin Saami traces his artistic lineage to Amir Khusrau. Revered for his mastery of khyal—the art of melodic improvisation within the framework of raga (melody) and tala (rhythm)—he headlines a renowned qawwali group, together with his four sons, that preserves and reinterprets Khusrau’s poetic, musical, and spiritual heritage.
Derya Türkan (Türkiye) – A classical kemençe player, composer, and educator, Derya Türkan has brought Turkish classical and folk music to audiences worldwide. Known for blending Turkish traditions with jazz and European classical idioms, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists from both East and West. Türkan has also contributed to numerous film soundtracks, including for the Academy Award-winning film Argo.
Naseer and Nazeer Ahmed Khan Warsi (India) – Leading exponents of qawwali, the devotional Sufi music of South Asia, brothers Naseer and Nazeer Warsi belong to a family lineage tracing back to the Qawaal Bachhey (children of qawwali)—the singers and musicians trained by Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), the founder of qawwali. Devoted custodians of shrine service and Khusrau’s classical repertoire, they continue to bring Khusrau’s musical and spiritual legacy to audiences across India and the world.
