Simon Alami Composer
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Canadian composer of concert classical music. He loves to experiment with new forms of expression
03/16/2026
What a beautiful and memorable evening in Seattle this past March 12 for the world premiere of Symphonic Dances.
My deepest thanks to my friend Dr Erin Bodnar for inviting me to write this piece and for bringing it to life with such energy and musical commitment.
I am also profoundly grateful to the wonderful student musicians of the University of Washington Wind Ensemble. Your dedication, openness, and curiosity toward new music made this experience incredibly meaningful. It was a real joy to work with you in rehearsal and to hear the music come alive in performance.
Thank you as well to the University of Washington School of Music for the warm welcome and for supporting the creation and performance of new work.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada.
I thank the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québecfor its financial support.
🎧 Steps on the Wind — Dance III from Symphonic Dances
What you're hearing in this excerpt is inspired by the musical traditions of the Atlas Mountains, part of the rich soundscape that surrounded Simon's youth in Morocco. It moves close to the ground, breath-driven, communal. Something ancient that never stopped dancing.
Symphonic Dances is a cycle of five interconnected dances tracing a journey between two worlds that shaped who I am asa composer: Morocco, and Québec, where I have lived for more than forty years. The music doesn't present these traditions as museum pieces — it lets them move, collide, and ultimately find a common language.
The world premiere takes place on March 12 in Seattle with the University of Washington Wind Symphony, conducted by Erin Bodnar — whose invitation to write this piece opened an entirely new world. Wind symphony writing was territory I had never explored before. Her trust changed that, and I look forward to going much further.
A Québec reel excerpt is coming soon — a very different energy, same journey.
The full five-movement listening version is on SoundCloud — link in the first comment. 👇
https://on.soundcloud.com/A0xuU1Ezu8geezOTPh
With gratitude to ethnomusicologist Khalil Moqadem for his insight into Moroccan musical traditions.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
03/03/2026
On March 12, the University of Washington Wind Symphony, conducted by Dr Erin Bodnar, will premiere my five-movement work Symphonic Dances in Seattle.
This piece traces a personal trajectory — from my birth and early musical roots in Morocco, through my life in Québec, to a final movement where both traditions converge in a shared celebration: Dawn of the Dance.
I am deeply grateful to Erin Bodnar for inviting me to write this work and for guiding it to life with such dedication.
Looking forward to hearing it resonate in its full symphonic form.
https://music.washington.edu/events/2026-03-12/wind-ensemble-and-symphonic-band-mystic-threads
10/26/2025
https://youtu.be/RlQoy5EuSS0?si=lC2f6ozW8A9BHoZB
Analysis for Composers # 20 - A checklist for musical quality Here I present my personal checklist: what I look for in a new piece. These are suggestions for musical criteria.
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