Thursday 19 March 2015
The Shoe Factory, Nicosia / 8.30pm

Following the great success of last year’s concert of Persian music, the Pharos Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Iran in Cyprus, presents again this year another evening of Persian Classical Music featuring the Miras Ensemble.

From the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century B.C. to present day Iran, the beautiful and ancient Persian culture has experienced periods of intense wealth and gr! eat loss. Despite the many ups and downs deep in history, the Persian people were able to retain their rich cultural heritage. The classical music of the Persian culture reflects the deep sadness of brutal invasions, the complex beauty of nature, and fusion with a higher power of existence. Persian classical music has evolved as a fluid expression of the social and cultural values proudly embodied by the Persian people, as demonstrated by the musical theory system, the role of music in Persian culture, and the creation process of musical performance.

MIRAS ENSEMBLE

Arash Ghasemi / Composer & Oud 
Emran Forozesh / Tombak & Daf
Amin Rahimi / Ney
Toraj Zadpoor / Tar 
Bamdad Fahalati / Vocals

The Miras Ensemble, led by composer Arash Ghasemi, was founded in 2008 with the aim of performing the noble Persian classical music and presenting the masterpieces of the great men of literature. By exploring the music heritage of the co! untry, the Ensemble aspires to protect this unique art, which has its roots in the ancient culture and customs of Iran. The Miras Ensemble has performed extensively in Iran and all over the world, in a number of festivals such as the Fajr International Music Festival and the Honyagaran Festival organised by the Iranian Art Center, in celebration of the millennium anniversary of Ferdowsi’s epic poem Shahnameh (held by the Center for Great Islamic Encyclopaedia and UNESCO) and the Nowruz Universal ceremony. The Ensemble has participated in various conferences and cultural programmes and has released a number albums, more recently “Ganj o Ranj”, based on poetry by the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic Maulana Rumi. Now it is in the process of recording two new albums based on poetry by Parvin Etesami and Hakim Ferdowsi.