News & Events

March 27, 2006

CONTACT:

Carl Young, Interim Director of Communications
425.352.8256
cyoung@cascadia.edu

Cascadia Community College Presents
Miracles of Rhythm, Traditional Iranian Music
on April 13

Bothell, WA - Cascadia Community College student Activities Board and the Cascadia Global Human Rights Alliance invite the community to attend what promises to be a spectacular performance of Persian classical music performed on traditional instruments.

"Miracles of Rhythm", an ad-hoc ensemble of virtuoso players, will appear on Thursday, April 13, from 11:00am to 1:00pm, on the campus of Cascadia Community College and UW, Bothell, in the Commons in UWB 2. The public is welcome and there is no charge.

The performance will be literally a one-of-a-kind event, since the ensemble is not an established group, but each member is an accomplished musician. Their goal in providing the concert is to introduce the rich musical traditions of Iran to the community.

Siamak Pouian is a highly acclaimed Persian Tonbak player, best known for his ability to improvise. The Tonbak is the major percussion in Persian classical music. Mr. Pouian has performed at events throughout the world and accompanied prominent vocalists and instrumentalists. For the past nine years, he has been a music professor at University of California in Santa Barbara. A pioneer in his field, he continues to inspire audiences with his explosive repertoire.

Mohammad Nejad, a Persian-born master multi-instrumentalist, was born in Tehran, Iran. He plays a large number of instruments, including ney, zurna, Western flute, santur, kanun, oud, setar, dotar, tar, kemanche, violin, daf, dumbek, zarb, accordion and keyboards. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area and has performed throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Saman Mahmudi will play the Santoor. Saman Mahmoudi was born in 1970 in Tehran, Iran. At age ten he started playing the Santoor under the supervision of Masters of the instrument. He moved to the U.S in 1987. He is well-known for improvisation and has performed on many occasions with a variety of Iranian musicians.

Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a member of the ensemble, lives in Seattle. Dr. Sadrzadeh will be the vocalist for the performance. Dr. Sadrzadeh started his formal “Awaz” training at age 15 and was a member of the University of Isfahan Orchestra for several years. He has great interest in Persian Dastgaahi and Folkloric Music.

For more information: Denise Michaels at dmichaels@cascadia.edu or Iraj Paydar at ipaydar@cascadia.edu. Photographs of some of the musicians are available.

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