Composer and Conductor Nadeem Majdalany Continues to Innovate and Inspire

Nadeem Majdalany is a two-time Grammy® Award winning musician, who played percussion on the Grammy® winning album, Mythologies, as well as contributing greatly to the musical aesthetic on the Grammy® Award winning album Sakura. Majdalany was raised in Ottawa, Canada and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. Nadeem Majdalany’s approach to music composition provides an uncanny ability to cross genres with ease, and to bring something magical to each and every production of music. His work defies the convention of traditional classical music, resulting in an energetically daring new voice in contemporary classical music. Internationally acclaimed violinist, and producer, Sheena Gao states, “Nadeem Majdalany’s passion for music and music composition, evident from a young age, has led him to become a highly sought-after composer and conductor on the international music scene.”

Discussing what makes him an artist and composer who is well-poised to continue to captivate audiences through his creative work, Majdalany states, “I’m fascinated by music and musical instruments from other cultures and backgrounds. Working on Sakura gave me an opportunity to branch out and familiarize myself with other styles and instruments,” states Majdalany. “It was on the album (Sakura) that I played a traditional African instrument, the Ngoni, as well as additional instruments such as the djembe, talking drums, a wide variety of African shakers, African rain sticks and gourds, and a Tibetan Hang Drum. Sakura won Best Global Music Album at the 2023Grammys®. Nadeem Majdalany refers to his work on the album Sakura as an “incredible experience,” one with “great creative synergy” involving Majdalany, Lonnie Park and Masa Takumi.  Stating, “Being part of Sakura was an amazing and unforgettable experience. Lonnie, Masa and myself were able to creatively share ideas back and forth. My favorite part of the journey in creating Sakura includes the great conversations Masa and I had about coming up with the track titles.”  

In addition to Majdalany’s appreciation for traditional and classical instruments, he enjoys inventing new instruments while creating compositions.Majdalany discussed his creation of a new hybrid percussive instrument for the album Mythologies, which he calls, “The Time Machine.” “This instrument contributed a very unique sound to the album.”  It was also for the album Mythologies where Majdalany was able to capture the recording of natural rainwater. Stating, “I had left out some glasses when it had poured an ungodly-like rain, when I went outside, I heard the pitches produced by the rain collected within these glasses, and engineered a way to gather the beautiful tones.” The album, Mythologies won in the category of Best Classical Solo Vocal Album at the 64th GRAMMY® Awards. Majdalany states, “working with the Mythologies team to bring the album to fruition was such a beautiful and musically enriching process.”

Kitt Wakeley, Grammy® winning artist, composer and producer eloquently summarized Nadeem Majdalany’s contributions as a true artist in music, “Nadeem Majdalany is one of those rare talents whose compositions not only capture the attention of the listeners, but also of the musicians who perform his arrangements. When the musicians feel the emotion of the composition, it magnifies the senses of the listener. Nadeem is equally brilliant as a musician.” Reflecting on his own musical compositions, Majdalany states, “My compositions are meant to affect the listener on multiple levels by eliciting thought, emotions, feelings, and heart. Sometimes the reactions of the listener are positive and sometimes they are not; sometimes the reactions are familiar and sometimes they are not.  No matter what the response, I hope that the music I am creating plays an integral part in helping the listener grow and evolve. Music has multiple dimensions; understanding, exploring and creating; from the core of that, is where the magic happens.”

When Nadeem Majdalany was asked, “What is on the horizon for the rest of 2023 and beyond,” Majdalany summarized with enthusiasm that there is a “bright future ahead.” In addition to his upcoming projects, Majdalany discussed being open to collaborating on other music projects with artists from a variety of genres; “I have an eclectic taste and style when it comes to music. I am open to new projects and making new connections,” concluding, “anyone who wants to speak of a collaboration, of course is welcome to reach out.  Creating music with other artists, composers, producers and songwriters is an amazing process, especially when we are all able to equally contribute our gifts and talents to create beautiful, interesting, and unique music.”

So, what is specifically “in the works” for Nadeem Majdalany? According to Majdalany, his current projects include a forthcoming Christmas album, a children’s song, contributions to television programming, and scoring for film. Majdalany states that his “most adventurous project to date is an upcoming live concert this summer of 2023. I am really looking forward to sharing this unique and innovative project with the world.” Ticket sales and dates will be announced in late spring or early summer via additional news media.

Follow Nadeem Majdalany’s work as a composer, songwriter and artist at Nadeem Majdalany IMDb, and via his website at www.nadeemmajdalany.com.

Written by Lisa Pellegrene, Author, Writer, Journalist, Publicist, and TV/Film Professional