Na’ilah Ali
Multi-style violinist | Singer | Composer | Arranger
Phunq, March 2023
During my time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I have been able to develop my composition skills. With the help of Dr. Rudolf Haken, Professor of Electric Strings, I finished a long lost work of mine originally titled Funkadelics, inspired by the 1970s group Parliament-Funkadelic. To avoid any confusion, we opted to change the name to Phunq (pronounced as ‘funk’). On the right is the first performance of the piece in public at the Jason Kao Hwang Residency in March 2023.
Phunq, April 2023
What a difference a month makes! Here is a performance of Phunq that is more fully fleshed out than at the earlier masterclass shown above. This really shows more of what the electric violin can do, as well as the collaboration between Dr. Haken and I. My favorite part is at the end, adding the wah pedal to the chopping. It’s so 1970s, it hurts!
Capona, 2023
One of my major passions is baroque music, and more specifically, lute music. I arranged this lute piece by Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger (a glorious name) called Capona for 5, 6, and 7-string electric violin. A huge part of performing this piece is that everyone makes it their own, adding their own effects, loops, and other ornaments. Here is my version!
Capona, 2023
Here is a change of pace! Here is Dr. Rudolf Haken performing his version of Capona that I arranged for 6-string electric violin.
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