About Samā School of Music: Tahir Qawwal and Alexandra Amïe Lyons

Samā School of Music is an online academy for devotional music, founded by Tahir Qawwal and Alexandra Amïe Lyons. Together they teach Sufi qawwali, Hindustani classical vocal and harmonium to students around the world, carrying a living tradition into an accessible, online form.

Our lineage

Tahir and Amïe were initiated into the lineage of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the most renowned voice in the history of qawwali, through his longtime tabla player, Ustad Dildar Hussain. This places their teaching within an unbroken chain of transmission, the way this music has always been passed from master to student. You can watch the moment of our initiation here.

Tahir Qawwal

Tahir Hussain Faridi Qawwal has walked the path of devotional music and mysticism since boyhood. Drawn from Nova Scotia, Canada to the Indian subcontinent as a young man, he was taken in at fifteen by the tabla maestro Harjeet Seyan Singh and initiated into the rhythm cycles of Indian classical music. His late teens were spent wandering the Garhwal Himalayas as a dervish, living the yogic path with a shruti box in hand, searching for "sur", the purity of sound and pitch that lies at the heart of this music.

At sixteen he found his pir, Sheikh Leban, took his shahadat into Islam and was given the name Tahir Hussain. The name "Faridi" marks him as a mureed of the great saint Baba Farid Ganjshakar. From there his music turned fully toward qawwali, shaped by the sacred poetry of Amir Khusrau, Data Ganj Baksh and Bulleh Shah.

Over the decades since, Tahir has studied with masters of the tradition, among them Pandit Pashupati Nath Mishra of Varanasi, with whom he learned for a decade, and the qawwali ustads Sher Ali Khan and Muazzam Ali Khan, and he refined his harmonium under Rahat Ali. He began his qawwali journey in Ajmer in 2000, and in 2001 he founded the ensemble Fanna-fi-Allah. Over more than two decades the ensemble has performed more than 1,500 concerts across the United States, Canada, Pakistan, India, Europe, Australia and beyond, at venues including the Barbican in London, the Royal Opera House in Mumbai and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, and has released over twenty albums on Tabaruq Records and Buda Musique.

Over many years Tahir has returned to the urs of Baba Farid in Pakpattan and Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore, and has offered hazri at dargahs across India and Pakistan, the Sufi shrines where qawwali has been sung for centuries and where its spirit lives most strongly. Today he leads Fanna-fi-Allah, directed and produced the award-winning documentary Music of the Mystics, and teaches qawwali, harmonium and Hindustani classical vocal at Samā School of Music.

Alexandra Amïe Lyons

Alexandra Amïe Lyons is co-founder of Samā School of Music and a teacher of devotional voice and vocal artistry. She holds a deep love of the voice as a path of devotion and self-discovery, and she guides students, especially those who fear they "cannot sing", to free their authentic voice with warmth, patience and care. She is the director and producer of the Voice of the Beloved vocal artistry training retreats, which she co-leads, and she edited the award-winning documentary Music of the Mystics.

Ilahi Sufi Qawwali

Together, Tahir and Amïe co-founded Ilahi, a Sufi qawwali ensemble that brings this devotional music to life on stage and in the school's teaching.

Music of the Mystics, the documentary

Tahir directed and produced, and Amïe edited, the award-winning documentary Music of the Mystics, a journey into qawwali and the living masters of the Sufi tradition. You can also watch the series here.

What we teach

• Harmonium, from first notes to qawwali accompaniment
• Sufi qawwali and devotional composition
• Hindustani classical vocal and raag
• Kirtan, devotional singing and the art of finding your voice

Our approach

With more than 25 years of experience between us, we welcome complete beginners and lifelong musicians alike. This music asks for sincerity more than perfection, and our teaching is built to meet you wherever you are and to open the voice as a path of devotion.

Explore the [online courses](/) or begin with the free Voice of the Infinite masterclass series.

Connect

Follow along: Tahir Qawwal · Fanna-fi-Allah · YouTube · Tahir on Instagram · Amïe on Instagram · Ilahi · Fanna-fi-Allah on Instagram