Amir Alan Vahab is a Sufi musician and educator in Persian culture and traditional music.
Biography
editAmir Vahab was born in Tehran. Vahab started his musical education at an early age; by the time he turned 13, he had become a skilled player and instructor of the tanbur,[1] setar, daf, saz and ney. Vahab moved to London in 1976 at the age of 17 to further his education. Travelling through Europe, Vahab completed a degree in linguistics at the University of Paris and studied horology and jewelry design in Switzerland, before moving to New York City in 1981.[2] In New York Vahab established himself as a professional musician and jeweler before abandoning the latter business to focus on music.[3]
Music
editIn addition to solo work, Vahab performs with the Soroosh Ensemble, a traditional Persian music ensemble of approximately 40 to 50 members which he founded in 1981. Vahab sings and performs on a variety of traditional Persian musical instruments including the tanbur, ney, daf and tonbak as well as classical guitar.[1] His music is noted for its spirituality, improvisation, and use of lyrics from medieval Sufi poets;[1][4] he has been described as "one of the world's most revered players and composers of Persian folk music".[5]
Vahab has composed and performed music for Iranian film and theatrical performances since 1990,[6] and has performed on Iranian television in the United States;[7] he has released seven albums as of August 2010.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c Toumani, Meline (2003-05-25). "Ambassador for a Silenced Music". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ a b Vahab, Amir. "Bio". tanbour.org. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Mehmet DEDE (2004). "Our Existence Is All Celebration". ASMA Society. Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Rahni, David. "Music That Transcends Souls". Persian Mirror. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Hsiao, Winston (2004-04-14). "Persian singer shares passion". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Lasser, Cory. "Music in the Islamic World". tanbour.org. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "UN Article". tanbour.org. Retrieved 5 August 2010.