Ronnie Malley is a Palestinian-American multi-instrumentalist musician on oud, guitar, keyboards, and percussion, composer, theatrical performer, producer, playwright, educator, and executive director of Intercultural Music Production. He specializes in various musical styles from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and medieval Spain and has performed with several global artists and ensembles including Allos Musica, Apollo’s Fire, Diwan al-Han, EMME, Eighth Blackbird, Huzam, Lamajamal, Lute Legends, Mucca Pazza, Newberry Consort, Picosa, Omar Offendum, Surabhi Ensemble, University of Chicago Middle East Music Ensemble, and Yves Francois & Rocambu Jazz. Ronnie has worked on award-winning theatrical plays, films, and TV series including The Band’s Visit (Broadway, Tony Awards, Grammy Awards), Mo (Netflix), The Jungle Book (Disney, Goodman Theatre), The New Mother (Eleva Singleton). He has recorded on over twenty albums and has co-produced several works and staged productions including American Griot (Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award 2020), Little Syria, Ziryab, The Songbird of Andalusia, and The Andalusian Trail. Ronnie was the recipient of the 2023 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award. He holds a BA in Global Music Studies from DePaul University and a MA in Languages (Arabic and Hebrew) from the University of Chicago, where he is currently a PhD student in Ethnomusicology.
How has your relationship with music evolved through the years as you explored different genres?
The beautiful thing about music is that it humbles you to know that there is SO much more to learn. It is an endless ocean that would take many lifetimes to navigate. I started off on percussion in school and later switched to guitar then piano. My exploration of my own Middle Eastern music heritage is what led me to learning the oud, a Middle Eastern lute and ancestor of the guitar. My family is from Palestine. This led me to explore adjacent cultures like North African, South Asian, and Balkan musical traditions. Music has allowed me to learn about languages, customs, instruments, music theories, spiritual practices, and more. More importantly, my life has been enriched by the human exchanges I’ve had performing with and for people across faiths and creeds, providing me not only a better perspective on humanity, but also my responsibility as a global citizen. I think all these converging paths are what led to me playing in the Surabhi Ensemble. In the ensemble, we get to explore so many of these traditions, but remain open enough to invite more into the fold.
You are a fluent polyglot. Did you find that knowing music of different cultures and genres helped you to master their verbal languages as well?
I grew up in a bilingual home with both Arabic and English as my mother tongues. Additionally, I would hear my father’s musician friends speak French, Spanish, Greek, Assyrian, and many dialects of Arabic. My proximity to them and their communities by learning their music most certainly had an impact on me learning other languages. It didn’t seem like I was just learning a language, but rather respecting someone’s culture enough to want to communicate with them and appreciate who they were as a people. Indeed, I heard languages like it was music. There is rhythm, tone, cadence, phrasing; all terms also related to music.
For example, when I studied tabla, I had to teach myself some Hindi for practical reasons because my guru didn’t speak much English. So, in that sense, I had two goals: 1) to learn Indian rhythm and tabla, and 2) to communicate enough in the language so that I could expand my studies of the music theory and culture. Once my guru sensed that, he came to my home with bags full of Bollywood movies and cassette tapes for me to learn, which I devoured voraciously.
In my current studies of medieval music of Spain, I went back to school to get a masters degree in Hebrew so that I can research the Jewish and Arabic poetry and music from that time period in the region. In doing so, it became essential to also improve my Spanish, which I studied along with French in high school and college.
How integral do you think music is to the art of theatre? How well does this translate to movie remakes of classic musicals these days?
Music is the emotional soundscape and vehicle of dialog in theatre and film. A simple experiment to know the impact of music is to mute a film and try simply watching the images or reading the subtitles. Though one might get a sense of knowing what is happening, it is difficult to truly ‘feel’ what is happening. Music becomes a character, or several, in storytelling. Sometimes it speaks volumes where no dialog is present and makes us understand its importance when it is silent.
Of your many accolades and accomplishments, which one are you most proud of and why?
This is a difficult question because I don’t like to talk about myself but rather demonstrate through my work. However, it is important to reflect upon one’s work in order to learn and also see where one’s life trajectory has been guided. One of the things I could say I’m ‘proud’ of would be that, early on, I committed my life to teaching, and I love to see where my students have taken their lives in music. Many of them have gone on to create music groups and become quite accomplished in their own right. I’d like to think that if I gave them any encouragement or influenced their success in anyway, it’s definitely a proud moment for me. Otherwise, everyday there is something new to learn, and every project is an opportunity to put my work ethic into practice. I live by a maxim that my grandfather taught me, “your work is your worship.” You show your belief and passion through what you do.
What is your next goal career wise?
My next career goal is to complete my PhD in Ethnomusicology in the next few years and put my life experiences into a more reflective format. That is, I’d like to research and write more academically about my experiences and interests, as well as produce more work to help us learn about global cultures. Although I will certainly teach in a university or educational institute, as I’ve done for many years, I will also continue performing and producing music.
Have you found any unique attributes to Indian music compared to others?
Indian music, like the languages, is a deep well of knowledge that has shaped many cultures of the world. I’ve been fortunate to explore many facets of Indian music from folk to classical to spiritual to popular. In my recording studio in Chicago, I’ve produced albums of bhajan and qawwali, playback karaoke tracks of Bollywood classics, folk music from Kashmir, and classical Hindustani and Carnatic fusion music. I’ve also been fortunate to perform this music with practitioners from the subcontinent and beyond. It really is a vast and diverse pool of music, cultures, and languages that goes back millennia to the Vedas, the Natyashastra, Tyagaraja, khyals of Khusrow, qawwals throughout the Mughal eras, Rabindrageet, and the myriad of multiple folk styles from Rajasthani Lunga and Manganyar, to Baul and Jhoomar in Bengal, to Moppila Muslim music in Malabar, to the myriad treatises on music theory like the Melakarta, etc. I haven’t even mentioned all the instruments or Bollywood, which itself only began in the 20th century! It’s definitely more than just raga(m) and tala(m). Indian music is a universe.
In the course of your research have you studied how is Indian theatre influenced by music and how this can be an area of study for international artists.
I’ve only studied a little bit about Indian theatre, particularly that which was in Malayalam. I do hope to explore and learn more while I’m on my trip. That said, I have worked with contemporary Indian theatre companies, artists, and producers in Chicago, namely Rasaka theatre, and throughout the states.
What are you most looking forward to in your upcoming trip to India?
This will be my fourth time to India, but my first time to the south. I spent most of my previous times in Delhi, Rajasthan, Kolkata, and Kashmir. I’m very much looking forward to experiencing South Indian culture and all that the region has to offer. I already know that I love the cuisine! I could eat dosas, idli, and sambar for the rest of my life. I’m also looking forward to learning more music and about the languages, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and more. Most importantly, I look forward to performing and bringing our message of global unity and creating cultural bonds and exchanges that remind us all that we are one human family.
(Feature pic by Larissa Rolley)
