• Source: Saira Peter

Saira Peter MSc MA (Lon) is a British soprano officially recognised as the world's first Sufi Opera singer. She is Director of NJ Arts London, a multicultural performing arts centre opened in 1998 by Sir Cliff Richard OBE. She is also founder of Saira Arts Academy (SAA) which was officially inaugurated in Lahore by Fed. Min. for National Heritage and Culture, Syed Jamal Shah, who lauded it as 'heralding a new era in the country’s music industry.'




Early life


Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Peter displayed singing talent at a young age, performing for church and community events, but she had no formal music training as a child. Upon completing her first Masters she moved to London and began to study western classical voice.




Education and Training


Saira Peter completed both a BSc (Hons) and an MSc (Distinction) in Physical Chemistry from University of Karachi, followed by an MA in History from Queen Mary University of London.

She is coached in western classical voice by composer Paul Knight. She studied raagdari with Chitrarupa Gupta (disciple of Pundit A.T. Kanan and Geeta Bannerjee) and late Ustad Fida Hussain Khan (Patiala Gharana).




Performance


Peter has given solo western classical performances in the UK, USA, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan.
Her 2016 Pakistan debut took place at Pearl-Continental Hotel in Karachi, followed since by performances at major national venues including Mohatta Palace, Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidential Palace, Islamabad), Governor House in Karachi, Alhamra Art Center in Lahore, Pakistan National Council of Arts (Islamabad and Lahore). She is regularly invited by the High Commission of Pakistan, London to sing at official events, which they feature on official social media.
Peter was Final Judge and then Chief Judge on two consecutive seasons of Pakistan's reality series Voice of Sindh.
In September 2021 she performed a well-received solo set at the international Mystic Music Festival, Konya, Turkey in commemoration of the birth of sufi poet Mevlana Rumi. With the support of Department of Culture, Konya, Peter created a 'fusion qawwali' based on the poetry of Mevlana Rumi, featuring footage at the shrine of Mevlana Rumi in Konya.




Television and Film


Peter is increasingly in demand as an OST (original soundtrack) singer for primetime television dramas. On 6 May 2022 her OST featured on GEO TV's "Dil Awaiz", a duet with Nabeel Shaukat (Composer: Naveed Nashad), the first episode quickly gaining millions of views. She recorded a solo OST composed by Naveed Nashad for HUM TV network's "Nehar", the first episode airing 9 May 2022. Her most recent OST recording is a duet with Naveed Nashad for Pakistan's GEO TV drama "Grift".




Sufi Opera


Passionate about bringing together people of all backgrounds, during her second MA (History) Saira Peter identified music as a historical means of bridging otherwise isolated communities and promoting a positive message. Simultaneously in the midst of studying Western Classical voice, she envisioned using her music to take Sufi peace poetry to the world stage.
In 2015-16 she worked with vocal coach Paul Knight to create several Sufi Opera songs based on English translations of poetry by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. These were well received by diverse audiences in the UK, USA and Pakistan. She is currently working with a team of British artists to develop the world’s first full-scale “Sufi Opera”, a musical stage drama based on the story of Umar Marvi, one of Latif’s “seven heroines” of Sindh. It is set to be staged in London upon completion, and Peter will take the role of "Marvi".
Saira Peter has also pioneered a fusion style of the qawwali genre in which she incorporates both Western operatic and South Asian classical styles of singing. This may be heard in her fusion qawwali 'Rabeem Ver ', which feature's text by famed sufi poet Maulana Jalalluddin Rumi. Peter first performed the song live at Mystic Music Festival (Konya, Turkey) before producing an audio and video recording in collaboration with Konya Culture and Tourism Directorate.




Personal life


Saira Peter lives in London, UK with her husband, the ethnomusicologist and pianist / harmonium player Stephen Smith.




Artistry


According to The Express Tribune, Peter's career wish is "to translate Sufi poetry for Western music so they can understand Pakistani people and their desire for peace." In an interview with Arab News, she described her own music, culminating in the sufi opera genre, as 'merging the two worlds,' of Western and Pakistani classical music. She regularly incorporates both traditional Pakistani songs and Western classical art songs into her concerts. Pakistan's mainstream media often credits Saira Peter with introducing Western operatic singing to Pakistan.




Awards and Distinctions


2018: Recorded 'God Save the Queen' by request of East Sussex government offices (Hastings, UK) for which she received letter of gratitude from (late) HM Queen Elizabeth II. Saira Peter is the first Asian and first Pakistani to record the British national anthem.
Islamabad Art Fest 2019: Award for 'Best Music Performance' at Pakistan's largest international arts event
2022: Re-recorded British national anthem as 'God Save the King', receiving a letter of appreciation from HM King Charles III in response.




Discography


Resplendent (2017)
Raqs-E-Rooh (2018)
Yeh Zindagi (2021)




Videography


Zarori Tha - 2015
Pairey Pawandi Saan - 2015
Aao Rana - 2015
You Are My Friend - 2015




References

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