IN DE GEEST VAN RUMI | Womb

The first orchestral composition by musician Farid Sheek (Isfahan, 1994) is a special one. The work is based on an ancient poem by the Persian poet Rumi (born in 1207). In search of inspiration, Sheek even traveled to Rumi’s tomb in Turkey. After a year of preparation, everything finally fell into place there.

He recalls standing at the airport of Konya, just hours before his flight back to the Netherlands. For days he had been searching the city for traces of his favorite poet, hoping to ignite the spark for his new piece: an eight-minute work about birth, the journey of life, and its seasons, echoing Rumi’s timeless philosophy.

Sheek had long dreamed of this journey. “I have always felt a deep connection to Rumi,” he explains. “My grandfather lived entirely through his poetry. For me, too, Rumi is incredibly important. His works hold timeless truths and unmatched philosophical depth. Centuries after his death, he is still beloved worldwide. Even Chinese tourists visit his grave in Konya.”

In Konya, Sheek spent nights playing music until dawn with anyone who wanted to join. Yet when his flight home approached, the decisive idea for his composition had not arrived. At the airport, he suddenly knew: “I wasn’t ready to leave. I decided to skip the flight and stay.”

Practical challenges didn’t stop him. He had to rebook his flight, the hotel had no rooms left, but none of that mattered. “The urge to stay was too strong. I felt I had to be there.”

Heartbeat

His intuition proved right. “Until I returned from the airport, my mind had been silent—no music at all. Then suddenly it struck me: what if that silence is the music?”

He taps on the table, imitating a heartbeat. “That was it. The rhythm of the heart became the foundation of the piece.”

Back in his hotel room, he began shaping the composition and later shared it with Gijs Kramers of the Residentie Orkest. Together they refined it. “Gijs is a magician. He even co-composed parts of it. Before I knew it, the piece was complete.”

An Ambitious Yet Accessible Work

The result is an ambitious yet accessible composition about life—rooted in ancient philosophy but universally recognizable. It can be performed by a chamber-sized orchestra or a full symphony orchestra. Sheek is proud that it will premiere with the Residentie Orkest, and he hopes the work will live on in performances for many years to come.

Sheek himself will be present at each performance, playing the daf, a traditional Persian frame drum, to which he has bound his heart. He even commissioned Iranian-Dutch painter Asha Kunst to create a monumental artwork inspired by Rumi’s poem, a towering canvas to be displayed on stage during performances.

“You know,” Sheek reflects, “my grandfather always said: every day I grow wiser is a day I feel like it’s my birthday. That’s exactly how I feel now that this work is finished. Every time an orchestra plays it will be magical.”