TEHRAN-Iranian veteran musician Ardeshir Kamkar and his ensemble will hold a concert at Vahdat Hall in Tehran on July 1.

Kamkar’s music band will perform Kurdish music on stage, where Shahrokh Hedayati will accompany the band as a vocalist, IRNA reported.

At the concert, Kamkar, Faraz Maroufi, and Abbas Jafari will play kamancheh (spike fiddle). The ensemble also includes Pouria Vaziri on qanun, Zanyar Pendar on divan and oud, Kavan Karimi on santur, Maziar Yektayar on tar, Hamed Pira on balaban and sorna, Mahur Zamanehpur on tombak, Tara Kamkar on bendir, and Pejman Naghshbandi on daf and cajon.

Ardeshir Kamkar, 62, was born in the city of Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan Province. He started his music training under the supervision of his father Hassan and later learned it from his brother Pashang as well as the late renowned tar and setar player Mohammad Reza Lotfi.

He has always been keen to explore the range and capabilities of the kamancheh, for which he has written several pieces and books and made numerous pieces. 

He has played with famous ensembles such as Dastan, Aref, Sheyda, and Kamkars, which comprises his six brothers and one sister). In the album “Dastan,” (1985) he accompanied the improvisation of the late Iranian master of Persian avaz Mohammadreza Shajarian and has recently worked with this singer’s son, the talented vocalist Homayoun Shajarian.

Kamkar also has international collaboration. One of his well-received albums is “From Pontos to Persia,” in which Matthaios Tsahouridis plays the Pontic lyra accompanied by Kamkar on kamancheh and Hussein Zahawy on the daf.

Vahdat Hall is located on Shahryar Blvd, Hafez Street, south of Enqelab Avenue.

SS/SAB