Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran will host a traditional concert competition on Thursday.
The competition is a traditional edition of “1,000 Voices,” a program organized under the auspices of Tehran Municipality’s Organization of Art and Culture and Arasbaran Cultural Center.
The concert is in the form of a competition with expert reviews and analyses on the pieces performed, ILNA reported on its Persian website.
Participants are three traditional ensembles. From Malayer in Hamedan Province, “Bidad” ensemble will take part. It is led by ney player and improviser Mohammad Moshfeq.
Khial ensemble from Yazd, capital of Yazd Province, is another participant. The group is led by tar and setar player Ehsan Tavakkol.
The third ensemble is known as Delangizan from Zanjan, capital of Zanjan Province. Their leader is composer and tar player Pouria Soleymani.
Performances will be evaluated by a panel of three experts. Composer and virtuoso of tar and setar Kayvan Saket will judge compositions and performances. Traditional vocalist and composer Vahid Taj will decide about vocal performances, and poet Omid Sabbaghno will evaluate the lyrics.
The program includes a ceremony to honor the renowned traditional vocalist Manuchehr Homayounpour. This edition of 1,000 Voices is scheduled on the eve of the late singer’s birth anniversary. He was born on June 1, 1924 and died on March 27, 2006.
There will also be a few performances outside the competiton. Singer Alia Kazemian and his band from Amol, Mazandaran Province, will present a small repertoire of mystic music. A vocal performance will be staged by singer Amir-Masoud Khosravi, and a percussion show is included in the style of zourkhaneh, traditional Iranian gym.
The event is managed and presented by Arash Nassiri who founded the program on the basis of his own original idea. Running for the sixth year now, the program seeks to introduce emerging talents in domestic music.
Arasbaran Cultural Center is located on Jolfa Street near Seyed-Khandan Bridge.
