The Future of Transformation with Qasim Naqvi

In this program, musician and composer Qasim Naqvi reaches back into the past for images of futuristic transformation: he creates a live electronic score for key moments drawn from three gems of silent cinema: Aelita Queen of Mars, Metropolis, and Woman in the Moon. These scenes— including the dazzling transference of Maria into the revolutionary cyborg in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis—invite us to meditate on moments of change that powerfully punctuate early experimental cinema and the future-gazing narratives of silent cinema.

This program is made possible by Rasika and Girish Reddy, Manoj and Rita Singh, and the Akhoury Foundation.

About the Performer

Qasim Naqvi is a drummer, composer, and member of the group Dawn of Midi. When not touring, he composes music for film, dance, and theater and chamber ensembles domestically and abroad. His concert works have been performed by yMusic, The Now Ensemble, The Loos Ensemble, The New Century Players, The Contemporary Music Ensemble of NYU, The Crash Ensemble, and others. Qasim’s soundtracks and arrangements for film have appeared on HBO, NBC, PBS, The Sundance Channel, The New York Times, The Tribeca Film Festival, The Academy Awards, The Sundance Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival, and others. He is a 2016 N.Y.F.A Fellow in Music and Sound and has received other fellowships and awards from Chamber Music America, Harvest Works, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, S.T.E.I.M. and Art OMI. Presently, Qasim writes chamber and electronic music in Brooklyn, New York, and works on a variety of projects as a freelance composer and drummer.

Image Credit

Chitra Ganesh (b. 1975, Brooklyn, NY); Rainbow Body (still); 2018; digital animation; courtesy of the artist