San Francisco (California), USA – On February 18th at Herbst Theater, Door Dog Music Productions, producers of the San Francisco World Music Festival, present world renowned Persian Kurdish vocalist Shahram Nazeri. He will be accompanied by his son Hafez Nazeri who has created new compositions entitled, “In the Path of Rumi,” an attempt to bridge the ancient, traditional music of Iran and western classical music, while preserving the essence and fundamental structures of Persian music. The other guests will be Siavash Nazeri (daf) and Liuh-Wen Ting (viola).

“In the Path of Rumi” will incorporate new orchestrations, harmonies, rhythmic patterns, and melodic forms to match the particular mood of Rumi’s poetry, while preserving the essence and fundamental structures of Persian music. This concert will recreate the atmosphere of Nava, a traditional Persian scale, not by resorting to familiar note sequences but by the use of new sonority, texture, phrase and rhythmic combinations.

The musicians will combine both Eastern and Western musical sensibilities, by combining the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales with Western harmonic structures. Unlike classical Persian music, individual pieces will traverse multiple keys, and as a result, resulting in an intermingling of ancient Persian music with new influences.

For this evening, the orchestration will feature traditional Iranian folk instruments, played with new techniques (including the setar, daf and dammam) and unlikely pairings (including viola, cello and tabla). Unlike most previous projects in fusion music; however, the Western and Indian instruments will not be utilized here as mere accompaniment or special effect, but fully incorporated into the compositions.

“In the Path of Rumi” is an attempt to demonstrate to the world that classical Persian and Sufi music is constantly evolving, not just repeating old styles and patterns. This style of music has been coined “Modern Persian Classical Music” by Hafez Nazeri, and embraces change and rejuvenation while maintaining understanding and cultural roots in the legacy of the past. This is vital for both the health of Persian culture as a whole and Persian music in particular.

[Photo: Shahram Nazeri].

The Herbst Theater is located at 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. Tickets: $35, $60, $80, $100,City Box Office: 415 392-4400