Persian Origins: Persian Traditional Trio

Featuring Saina Khaledi on Santour, Ali Razmi on the Tar, and Ali Sajjadi on the Oud

Roedde House Museum in collaboration with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) is pleased to present our musical series “Music of the World”. 

Join us in the parlour of Roedde House Museum as we take chamber music back to its originally intended intimate setting. We hope that through this concert series you will be introduced to a diversity of musical instruments and styles reflective of the diversity of the Canadian experience as well as a new appreciation of different types of classical music!

Refreshments will be provided. 

Join us for the return of the delightful Persian Origins Trio as they return again to Roedde House. Delicate melodies with a profusion of  ornamentation give the listener a window into an ancient world where these instruments would be played in private, away from the public eye. Persian Origins audibly demonstrate Persian traditional instruments are the forefathers  of the piano (Santour) and guitar (Tar) and the program presented  shows many facets of musical character similar to western music from the baroque era:  in range, in dynamics and in deeply personal thoughts being played out in transparent intimate detail.

Artist Bios

Saina Khaledi – Santour

Saina Khaledi was the winner of the Iranian Santour Festival in 2003. She received her diploma from Iran’s most prestigious music school, the Tehran Music Conservatoire. She continued her studies and graduated in Music (Bachelors of Arts) from the Tehran Music University in 2007, at which point she studiedwith Masters: Mr. Nasrollah Khaledi, Mrs. Soosan Aslani (Dehlavi), and Mrs. Arfa Atraei. Saina has performed in Iran, Austria, Japan, Netherlands, USA and Canada often as a composer, soloist or with groups such as Music On Main, Vashaan Ensemble, The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO), BC Chinese Music Ensemble (BCCME), Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Richmond choir, Medusa Society, National Orchestra of Iran Conservatoire, Mellal Orchestra and Hamnavazan Ensemble. Shealso took part in different music productions and recordings. She currently teaches Santour at Capilano University, Persian Culture and art institute (Percai), Nazanin Academy, as well as private lessons.

Ali Razmi – Tar

Ali Razmi is a gifted tar and setar player who received his Master’s Degree in music from The Art University Of Tehran in 2006. Since his arrival to Canada in 2007, he has been a roster member of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, and has done workshops and concerts with well-known musicians from all around the world.

Ali Sajjadi – Oud

Ali Sajjadi is an Iranian-Canadian oud player based in Vancouver BC. He has been studying setar and oud since the 1990s and has had joyful collaborations with great local and international musicians. Ali has dedicated a portion of his musical career towards Persian folk music, participating in various festivals, live performances and recordings with renowned musicians worldwide. In 2004 he published a book titled“10pieces for Barbat”, for advanced barbat and oud players. Oud is what Ali loves; this instrument is played in a number of countries with diverse cultures and backgrounds; he believes the peaceful and magical sound of oud is a unifying element bridging all these deep, rich cultures.

About Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO):

The Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, founded in 2001, was one of the first professional concert orchestras devoted specifically to performing new intercultural music on a grand scale. It is currently the only ensemble of its kind in Canada, and one of only a handful that exist in the world. The VICO brings together musicians and composers from many cultural and artistic communities in the Greater Vancouver area, including Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Indian, Persian (Iranian), Latin and South American, Vietnamese, African, North American and European. The ensemble includes Western strings and winds (violin, viola, cello, contrabass, oboe, flute, clarinet) alongside Chinese erhu, sanxian, zheng, and sheng/suona; Persian kamanche, tar/setar, and tombak; Vietnamese dan bau; percussion from many world music traditions; and a variety of other instruments as required.

Since repertoire for the VICO’s unusual and diverse instrumentation does not already exist, creating new work is an integral component of all our programming. Developing new commissions (over 50 new Canadian works since 2001, and counting!) provides a necessary framework for bringing musicians and composers together to learn from each other, in a uniquely collaborative process. We build bridges of imagination. We approach diversity as a fascinating challenge and a creative call to action. We create and perform music that transcends borders and breaks down barriers, modeling a pathway for integrating non-Western traditional instruments, sounds and techniques into contemporary Canadian classical music.

Since its inaugural performance in 2001, the VICO has developed and performed over 50 new intercultural pieces by ground-breaking Canadian composers such as Elliot Weisgarber, Trichy Sankaran,Jin Zhang, Mark Armanini, Farshid Samandari, Moshe Denburg, Nikki Carter, Ed Henderson, Larry Nickel, Jeffrey Ryan, Rita Ueda, Lisa Cay Miller, Jim Hiscott,   Lan Tung, Michael O’Neill, John Oliver, Grace Lee, Neil Weisensel, Joseph “Pepe” Danza,  Niel Golden, Stephen Chatman, Rodney Sharman, Dorothy Chang, Neelamjit Dhillon, Jennifer Butler, Kara Gibbs, and Leslie Uyeda.

Reminders:

Ticket holders should arrive no later than 10 minutes before showtime to secure seats.
Masks encouraged.
Seating is limited.

Parking:

Limited street parking is available on Robson and in the West End. Parking spots are scarce in the neighbourhood, so give yourself some extra time or use public transportation. (Closest Skytrain station: Burrard. We are on the #5 Robson bus route).

DONATE & SUPPORT:

Donations collected go towards the continuation this Series and directly supports the artists we engage. You can support by donating HERE.