Notice Board

Music at Noon Concert Series presents Trio Regard Persan
12:15 pm | February 2, 2021
uLethbridge Online Concert

Please reserve your pass at: uleth.ca/tickets. Registration is required as we need to provide you with secure access information prior to the start of the event.

Founded by three Irano-Canadian musicians living in Montreal, Trio Regard Persan is an innovative musical ensemble in which each member explores a new sound of Persian music through their respective instruments.

Tanbour player Pooria Pournazeri comes from a lineage of great Iranian musicians. At the age of six, he first pursued the instrument with his uncle Keykhosrow Pournazeri, teacher of Sufi music, with whom he learns both traditional Persian and Kurdish repertoire. After years of meticulous practicing in the intricate tones of a thousand-year music, by 14 he started composing and by 16 had made his first public performance at a competition for the Fajr Music Festival in Tehran. He was quickly noticed and joined the prestigious Shams Ensemble with whom he participated in the album Mastan Salamat Mikonand.

Innovative musician Saeed Kamjoo plays both the gheychak and the kamancheh. Born in Tehran, Saeed is a respected Persian musician and composer. A graduate from the Music Department from Tehran University, he furthered his studies in both instrumental and vocal repertoires of Classical Persian music under the guidance of such renowned masters as Ali Akbar Shekârchi and Ustad Asghar Bahâri. His approach to playing kamancheh is based on his perception of the values inherent in classical Persian music.

Percussionist Ziya Tabassian assumes the rhythmic colours of the ensemble with instruments from different parts of Iran. He studied classical Western percussion and obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Université de Montréal. His artistic aspirations, which lean toward improvised music from the Mediterranean and Middle East, found an outlet in Constantinople, an ensemble that he co-founded with his brother Kiya. He furthered explored the contemporary repertoire with Iranian percussion instruments, which was to have a lasting impact. A tireless traveller, he continued his research with such masters as Bahman Rajabi (Tehran), Aziz Alami (Fez), Trichy Sankaran (Toronto), Mısırli Ahmet (Istanbul), Shree Sundarkumar and Yogesh Samsi (India). His first solo album, Tombak, stems from his acoustic explorations on the rhythmic cycles of early Persian music, and was released in 2007 on the Ambiances Magnétiques label.

Music at Noon wishes to thank Prairie Debut for their collaboration on Trio Regard Persan's online concert, and masterclass with students.

Photo credit: Cindy Voitus