Pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen

Join “one of the most thoughtful and sensitive of British pianists” (The Times) for an intimate evening of conversation and performance exploring music as an act of empathy, resilience, and human connection. Acclaimed for her searching artistry and intellectual depth, Mishka Rushdie Momen reflects on growing up in a family where creativity was a vital and formative presence—memories that include “happy family gatherings, even though there were always two big policemen sitting on our tiny children’s furniture with guns on their knees.” Having come of age witnessing the persecution of her uncle, author Salman Rushdie, and in the aftermath of the horrific attack against him, the decision to devote her life to the arts carries particular weight. This evening considers what it means to choose an artistic life in a world that can be hostile to creative expression, and how artistic identity is shaped by family, moral courage, and the responsibility to listen deeply—interwoven with live performance that reveals music as a space beyond words, where creativity itself becomes an empathetic act.