LONDON, Nov. 24, 2025 -- Ustad Naseeruddin Saami; widely regarded as Pakistan's preeminent living classical vocalist, has been honoured with the Patron's Award at the Aga Khan Music Awards 2025 in a ceremony on Friday night at the Southbank Centre, London.
The recognition placed Pakistan at the heart of a global celebration of cultural heritage as the world's music industry came together to celebrate eleven groundbreaking artists from Morocco, Bahrain, Türkiye, Iran, Lebanon, India, Mali, Palestine, Greece, Pakistan and Senegal, each representing a wide range of musical heritages and their evolutions.
Ustad Naseeruddin Saami is widely regarded as Pakistan's preeminent living classical vocalist. He is a torchbearer of the Delhi Gharana (hereditary lineage) of Hindustani music, which traces its origins to Amir Khusrau (1253–1325), the Sufi mystic, visionary polymath, celebrated pluralist, and bridge builder who shaped the cultural history of South Asia. Ustad Naseeruddin Saami is a master of khayal, the refined art of improvisation within the constraints of raga (melody) and tala (rhythm) in Hindustani music. Together with his four sons - Rauf Saami, Urooj Saami, Ahmed Saami, and Azeem Saami - who perform as the Saami Brothers, he leads a renowned qawwali group that preserves the poetic, musical, and spiritual legacy of Amir Khusrau.
The Aga Khan Music Award laureates, selected by an independent jury from a pool of over 400 nominees, share a prize fund of $500,000. The Awards ceremony headlined a four-day festival celebrating music from the Great East, marking the first time the Aga Khan Music Awards have taken place in the United Kingdom.
His Highness the Aga Khan:
"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."
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