A trip on a musical Persian carpet

By Maria Gregoriou

The Pharos Arts Foundation and the embassy of Iran will present a night of Persian Classical Music with the Miras Ensemble.

Just as last year, the foundation invites us to visit Persia and its culture through its classical music. This music has evolved as a fluid expression of the social and cultural values proudly embodied by the Persian people, as demonstrated by the musical theory system, the role of music in Persian culture, and the creation process of musical performance.

The Miras Ensemble, led by composer Arash Ghasemi, was founded in 2008 with the aim of performing classical Persian music and presenting the masterpieces of the great men of literature. By exploring the musical heritage of the country, the ensemble hopes to protect this unique art, which has its roots in the ancient culture and customs of Iran.

The ensemble, made up of Ghasemi who, as well as composing also plays the Oud, Emran Forozesh on the Tombak and Daf, Amin Rahimi playing the Ney, Toraj Zadpoor on the Tar, and Bamdad Fahalati on vocals, has performed extensively in Iran and all over the world. They have played in a number of festivals, and have also participated in various conferences and cultural programmes in addition to releasing a number albums, one of the most recent being Ganj o Ranj, based on poetry of the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Maulana Rumi. At present the ensemble is in the process of recording two new albums based on poetry by Parvin Etesami and Hakim Ferdowsi.

An Evening of Persian Classical Music
The Pharos Arts Foundation presents a performance by the Miras Ensemble. March 19. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €15/10. Tel: 22-663871

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