Mu'allaqat, song cycle for four vocalists and ten musicians
Premiere: Opera America, March, 2024

New Microtonal Quartet for Tomas Fujiwara, Ole Mathisen, and Tania Giannouli
Premiere: Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin, October 2023 

Dhikra for Orchestral players, Two Rivers, and Hamid Al-Saadi 
Premiere: Mostly Mozart Festival, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, July 2023

Maqamodular for solo, trumpet, santur, voice, modular synthesizer, 
Premier October 2023

Inner Spaces with Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch 2022
Premiere : Pioneer Works, October, 2022

Fanfare for Antiphonal Brass Octet
Premiere: Little Island, NYC, August 2021

RagaMaqam
Original work for 15 Raga and Maqam musicians, composed for a collaboration between Brooklyn Raga Massive, the India Center Foundation, and Lincoln Center. Premiere Date: July 31, 2021 at Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

Original Music for “The Mother” by Bertolt Brecht
Composed for the Wooster Group’s production of Brecht’s “The Mother.” Premiere date: June 9, 2021 at the Vienna Festival.

Solo for Trumpet, Santur, Voice, and Modular Synthesizer
Premiere date: November 21, 2020, Sarajevo Jazz Festival (virtual performance).

Two Rivers Symphonic Suite
for Two Rivers, Hamid Al-Saadi, and Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. Commissioned by the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. Premiere date: February 22, 2020, Amarillo, Texas.

The Other Shore
for the Rivers of Sound Orchestra, recorded in 2019, to be released in 2021.

Transe for Stambeli and trance musicians from Tunis, Tozeur, Mali, and the Ivory Coast. Commissioned by the Dream City in Tunisia. Premiere dates: October 8-14, 2019 (six performances), Tunis.

Luminiscencia, for Flamenco voice, dance, and percussion, with electronics, viola, trumpet, and santur. Commissioned by the Royaumont Foundation, Netherlands Flamenco Biennale, and French Ministry of Culture (commande d’état).
Premiere dates: February 2 (Rotterdam) and 7 (Amsterdam), 2019, Flamenco Biennale
Gema Caballero, voice; Vanesa Aibar, dance; Pablo Martin Jones, percussion; Lorenzo Bianchi-Hoesch, electronics; Dena El Saffar, violin and jowza; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet and voice.

Ahwaal, for string quartet, contrabass, clarinet, and voice
Premiere: November 24, 2018, Jazztopad Festival, Wroclaw, Poland
Lutoslawski Quartet; Waclaw Zimpel, clarinets; Amir ElSaffar, santur and voice

Cornū Luminis, for symphony orchestra
Premiere: August 11, 2018, Mammoth Lakes, CA
Eastern Sierra Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Edwin Outwater

Suite on the Green, for symphony orchestra and Rivers of Sound Orchestra
Premiere: June 17, 2018, Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven, CT
Members of Rivers of Sound (see above) and New Haven Symphony Orchestra

Maqam/Brass Resonance, for Brass and percussion
Premiere: November 4, 2017, Berlin Jazz Festival
Yorgos Dimitriadis, drums; Robin Hayward, microtonal tuba; Hilary Jeffery, trombone; Elena Kakaliagou, French horn; Claudio Puntin, clarinets; James Wylie, alto saxophone; Paul Schwingenschlogl, trumpet, flugelhorn; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet and voice.

Interstices, for Octet plus One
Premiere: September 15, 2017 at the Royaumont Abbey and Foundation, France
Ictus: Sylvain Devaux – oboe; Dirk Descheemaeker – clarinet; Tom De Cock – percussion; Jean-Luc Plouvier – piano; Igor Semenoff – violin; Jeroen Robbrecht – viola; Geert De Bièvre – cello; Géry Cambier – contrabass; Amir ElSaffar – trumpet
Commissioned by the Royaumont Foundation with support from the Camargo Foundation.

Trio, for Jazz Trio
Premiere: January 9, 2017 at the Fridman Gallery New Ear Festival
Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet

Written in Water, for Ragamala Dance
Premiere: October 5 & 6, 2016 at First Performances, Florida State University, Tallahassee Rajna Swaminathan, mrudangam; Anjna Swaminathan, Carnatic violin; Preethy Mahesh, voice; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, voice, santur

Not Two, for the Rivers of Sound Orchestra
Premiere: April 16, 2015, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
Nasheet Waits, drums; Carlo De Rosa, bass; Zafer Tawil, oud and percussion; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq; George Ziadeh, oud; Mohamed Saleh, oboe; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Craig Taborn, piano; JD Parran, bass saxophone and clarinet; Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone; Dena El Saffar, violin and jowza; Tim Moore, percussion; Rajna Swaminathan, mrudangam; Fabrizio Cassol, alto saxophone; Miles Okazaki, guitar; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, voice, santur
A MAP Fund and Arab Fund for Arts and Culture Commission

Ashwaaq, for string quartet, voice, and santur
Premiere: July 7, 2014, Festival d’Aix and July 10, 2014, Festival d’Avignon in France
Quatuor Tana; Khaled AlHafez, vocal; Amir ElSaffar, santur

Hijaz Variations, a Lament on the Loss of Country, for string orchestra, flute, oboe, and clarinet
Premiere: October 1, 2013 at the Morgenland Festival, Osnabrück, Germany
Morgenland Festival Orchestra

Crisis, for the Two Rivers Ensemble
Premiere: August 3, 2013 at the Newport Jazz Festival
Same personnel as Two Rivers, but Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone, replaces Rudresh Mahanthappa

Zaman, for the Alwan Arab Music Ensemble
Premiere: March 13, 2013 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, New York
George Ziadeh, oud; Zafer Tawil, percussion; Lety ElNaggar, nay; Johnny Farraj, percussion; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq; Apostolos Sideris, bass; Rami ElAsser, percussion; Amir ElSaffar, santur

Alchemy, for jazz quintet
Premiere: March 16, 2011 at The Jazz Gallery
Craig Taborn, piano; Hafez Modirzadeh, alto saxophone; David Ambrosio, bass; Dan Weiss, drums; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet

Inana, for the Two Rivers Ensemble
Premiere: September 30, 2010 at Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, MI
Same Personnel as Two Rivers

Within/Between, for jazz quartet and voice
Premiere: February 10 and 11, 2010 at the Jazz Gallery, New York City
Judith Berkson, voice; Liberty Ellman, guitar; Francois Moutin, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet and voice
Commissioned by The Jerome Foundation and The Jazz Gallery

Copper Suite, for the ElSaffar/Modirzadeh Quartet
Premiere: June 10, 2009, Alwan for the Arts, New York City
Hafez Modirzadeh, tenor saxophone; Mark Dresser, contrabass; Alex Cline, drum set; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet

Two Rivers Large Ensemble
Arrangements of Two Rivers Suite for 15 musicians
Premiere date: August 6, 2008, Millennium Park, Chicago, Made in Chicago Festival
Same personnel as Two Rivers plus Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Geof Bradfield, tenor saxophone; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Mohamed Saleh, oboe; Wanees Zarour, buzuq; Jeff Parker, guitar; Naef Rafeh, Nay; Dena El Saffar, violin; Tim Moore, percussion; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, voice, santur
Commissioned by Jazz Institute of Chicago and Made in Chicago

Mokurai (Silent Thunder), for Amir ElSaffar solo
Premiere: January 9, 2017 at the Fridman Gallery New Ear Festival, February 28, 2017 at Issue Project Room
Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, santur, voice

Two Rivers Suite, for the Two Rivers Ensemble
Premiere: March 26, 2006, Painted Bride Arts Center, and October 4, 2006, Festival of New Trumpet Music.
Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Nasheet Waits, drums; Carlo De Rosa, bass; Zafer Tawil, oud, violin, and percussion; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, voice, santur