Performers
Touraj Kiaras, Rahmatollah Badi’i, Majid Derakhshani, Ahmed Mukhtar,  Mostafa Shams and Robert Bly.

Date
16 November 2002 – 7pm.

Venue
Brunei Gallery Auditorium (SOAS), Russell Sq., London WC1H 0XG.

Organised by
The Iran Heritage Foundation and
The Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (SOAS).

Supported by 
Gholamreza Farsian and Said Sobkhiz.

Tickets
£12

Box Office
08700 600 100, www.ticketweb.co.uk [online booking].

Enquiries
020 7493 4766, info@iranheritage.org.

Introduction
Farid al-Din ‘Attar (d. 1221) is often described as one of the finest poets of the Persian Sufi tradition. This concert will present a musical interpretation of ‘Attar’s erotic Sufi lyrics, conveying in song the marvelous mellifluous beauty of his verse. The repertoire features an interpretation of two of ‘Attar’s Sufi ghazals, interspersed with several short romantic tunes. The musical rendition of the ghazals will be complemented by the recitations of the same ghazals in English translation by Robert Bly.

Performers' Details
- Touraj Kiaras (Vocals) – Studied with Maestro Mahmoud Karimi and Maestro Abdullah Davami. Currently teaches classical Persian singing at London University.

- Rahmatollah Badi’i (Violin) – Studied with Maestro Abu’l Hasan Saba. Author of numerous works on Persian music. Former lecturer in Music at the National School of Music in Tehran. Currently a member of the Northern Symphony Orchestra, Holland.

- Majid Derakhshani (Tar) – Studied with Maestro Mohammad Reza Lotfi. Founder of the Nawa Music Centre in Cologne, the first and most active Persian music centre outside of Iran.

- Ahmed Mukhtar (Oud) – Studied with Maestro Askar Ali-Akbar and Maestro Munir Bashher. Currently studying towards a degree in Ethnomusicology at London University.

- Mostafa Shams (Tonbak) – Studied with Maestro Bahman Rajabi.