TEHRAN – Celebrated Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor won the Artist Award of the globalFEST, North America’s most important world music industry event, which was held in New York last week. 

The Artist Award is one of the three main awards of the festival, which is presented to those artists who have made a lasting impression in the U.S., their homeland or around the world.

The Trouble Worldwide Award of the festival went to Lisa Stafford, the Programming director of the Festival International de Louisiane, a music festival in the U.S., while American music consultant and DJ Tom Schnabel won the Impact Award of the festival. 

“We are delighted to honor three arts leaders at the globalFEST 2020 Awards, Kayhan Kalhor, Tom Schnabel and Lisa Stafford,” the organizers wrote in a statement published on January 12

“Thank you for your exceptional, visionary, and inspiring contributions to the cultural landscape in the performing arts field in the USA and beyond,” they added. 

Iran’s Music Office director Mohammad Allahyari Fumani congratulated Kalhor on his win in a message published on Friday. 

“Achieving this success under these circumstances, when we are mourning the loss of Martyr Soleimani and our loved ones in the Ukrainian plane crash, lessens our sadness,” Allahyari Fumani wrote. 

Four-time Grammy Award nominee Kalhor has won several awards at Iranian and international music events. 

He won the Artist Award at the WOMEX Awards, the World Music Expo, in Finland, last August. 

He was also one of the two winners of the Isaac Stern Human Spirit Award at the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in August 2018. 

Photo: Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor in an undated photo. 

ABU/MMS/YAW