Please Note: This is a free program, registration required.
Echoing the deepest beats of the heart, drums are perhaps the oldest human instruments, and they figure into faith traditions across the United States. Featuring the music of the Rumi Daf Ensemble and Mark Rooney, as well as storytelling and performance from Dennis and Ralph Zotigh and the scholarship of Jalal Kimia and Deborah Wong, this program explores the power of percussion.
Examining the use of the daf in the American Islamic diaspora, how taiko drumming connects Japanese Americans with Buddhist and Shinto traditions, and the power of Native American drum circles, this program illuminates how Americans today feel the beat of their faith in harmony.
About the Faith in Harmony: Soundscapes of American Spirituality series
Rooted in the nation's commitment to freedom of belief, this five-part series explores the rich and evolving landscape of religion and spirituality in American—including Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Native American spiritual practices, among others—through celebration of sound.
Programs, offered free to the public, feature performances and conversations that reveal the human connections that emerge when sounds resonate in harmony. From sounding of the horn to the strike of the daf, form the healing of the jingle dress to a cantor's call to prayer, these soundscapes reflect the tones, textures, and connections of American spirituality across the nation.
This project received funding from the Smithsonian's "Our Shared Future: 250," a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.
Upcoming Faith in Harmony programs (Future Registration Information Coming Soon!)
General Information
- Registration for this program will end by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 6, 2026.
