A Persian name, or an Iranian name, consists of a given name, sometimes more than one, and a surname.
The tombak, tonbak (تنبک) or zarb (ضَرب) is an Iranian goblet drum. It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The tombak is normally positioned diagonally across the torso, while the player uses one or more fingers and/or the palm(s) of the hand(s) on the drumhead, often near the drumhead's edge. Sometimes, tombak players wear metal finger rings for an extra-percussive "click" on the drum's shell. Tombak virtuosi often perform solos lasting ten minutes or more.
Huun-Huur-Tu are a music group from Tuva, a Russian federative republic situated on the Mongolia–Russia border. Their music includes throat singing, in which the singers sing both a note and its overtones, thus producing two or three notes simultaneously. The overtone may sound like a flute, whistle or bird, but is solely a product of the human voice.
Jalaal Zulfonun was an Iranian musician, setaar player, and a prominent composer and teacher of Persian music.
Renaud Garcia-Fons is a French bassist and composer.
Michel Godard is a French avant-garde jazz and classical musician. He plays tuba and the predecessor of the tuba, a brass instrument known as the serpent.
Oni Wytars is an early music ensemble that was founded in 1983 by Marco Ambrosini and Peter Rabanser.
Thierry "Titi" Robin is a French composer and improviser. His style combines Mediterranean world including Romani, Oriental and European cultures. He plays guitar, buzuq, mandolin and ’oud.
Kayvan Mirhadi is an Iranian guitarist, composer, conductor and music educator.
Ross Daly is a world musician who specializes in the Cretan lyra. Although of Irish descent, he has been living on the island of Crete for over 35 years.
Georges Kazazian is an Egyptian-Armenian composer and oud player. He moved between two cultures in the vicinity of his cosmopolitan society, a feature of the social and demographic structure of Cairo at that time, which contributed to its open and decentralized compositions.
The Shanbehzadeh Ensemble is an Iranian folk band, formed in Bushehr in 1990. The band offers a rare aspect of the traditional music and dance of the Persian Gulf, more specially of the province of Bushehr, south of Iran and bordering Persian gulf.
The history of LGBT people in Iran spans thousands of years. Homosexuality has been viewed as a sin in Islam, and is outlawed in almost all Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. In pre-Islamic Iran, a tradition of homosexuality existed, however most were intolerant of pederasty and sexual activity between two men, especially the Zoroastrians. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Iranians were “far from immoral relations with boys”.
Bustan Abraham was an Israeli band playing mostly instrumental music, which existed between 1991 and 2003. Its name means "Abraham’s garden"; the reference to the common ancestor of both Jewish and Islamic traditions intending to imply a unifying theme. The band was called a pioneer in the realm of world music.
Houria Aïchi is an Algerian Berber singer of chaoui music. Aïchi sings songs that she learnt in her childhood, accompanied by bendir.
Dr. Shahab Paranj is an Iranian-American composer and instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He is considered one of the pioneers among his generation of composers whose composition style integrates Persian and Western composition techniques. Known as a tombak virtuoso, he has performed, recorded and collaborated with some of the most celebrated artists worldwid! Paranj is a founder and artistic director of “Du Vert à L’infini” a contemporary music festival in the Franche-Comte region of France. He currently serves as a faculty member at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
Constantinople is a Montreal-based early music and middle eastern music ensemble. The group was formed in 1988 by brothers Kiya Tabassian (setar) and Ziya Tabassian (tombak). The sétar and tombak are complemented by viola da gamba, renaissance cornett, and daf.
Jean-Pierre Drouet is a French multi-instrumentist percussionist and composer.
Jean During is a French musician and ethnomusicologist specialising in music from the nations of the East especially Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. A commentator on the Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures, he is the Research Director at the French National Center for Scientific Research and a professor at the University of Strasbourg.
