About the artists

Misagh Joolaee (Kamancheh)

Picture: ©Jo Titze
Picture: ©Jo Titze

Born in 1983 in Mashhad, grew up in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran, Misagh Joolaee began to play the violin at the age of eight. Within 5 years he accomplished the learning of the persian-classical repertoire Radif.

 

1996, Misagh won the first prize in violin solo competition at Fajr Music Festival, the most prestigious music festival in Iran, at the age of 13 in the young performers category on violine. Furthermore he studied setar, tar and especially intensively kamancheh with various iranian masters.

 

Then followed by an eductation on piano and violin in European Classical Music.

 

His musical career is characterized by a great versatility in working with musicians of different countries. In 2009 he founded the ensemble AAVAAN, with which he performed his own compositions and won the competition Creole - Global Music in 2010 in Germany.  

 

Misagh was also a lecturer at the World Music Faculty of the University in Hildesheim from 2011 to 2014. 

In the year 2011 he founded the Anatolian-Persian duo with the turkish Baglama master Levent Özdemir. The two virtuosos play mainly their own compositions together. He also founded in 2015 the Flamenco-Persian Ensemble Chachipen together with significant spanish musicians from Andalusia. 

 

Furthermore, Joolaee founded 2019 the Kamancheh-Klavier Duo together with the well-known german pianist Schaghajegh Nosrati.

The solo work is also a focus of his musical activities. In 2014, he appeared as a Kamancheh soloist in the performance of the 5th Symphony of Awet Terterjan with the State Orchestra of Braunschweig in the town hall of Braunschweig. 

 

His Debut Solo CD »From Afar« received 2020 the prestigious German Record Critics Award "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik".

 

In 2021 his second album »Unknown Nearness« in which he consequently continues the development of new playing techniques, sounds and rhythms was again awarded the German Record Critics Award.

 

In November 2022 his album »Qanat« was awarded that renowned price of German Record Critics Awad one more time.

 

Thereby Misagh  Joolaee is one of the few artists of recent music history whose recordings were acknowledged by German Record Critics Award three times in succession.

behnam samani (percussion)

Picture: © André Elbing
Picture: © André Elbing

Behnam Samani was born in 1967 in Tschaher Mahai Bakhtiari in Iran. He studied tombak for 13 years with D. Mohebi in Isfahan.

 

He has been performing in Europe since 1987 and has collaborated with some of the most celebrated iranian musicians including F. Paewar, M. Zarief and R. Badie. He has also worked with international artists such as H. Charasia, D. Schneider and H. Mitschke on several theatre and music projects.

 

Behnam Samani founded the ensemble Zarband and has performed with ensembles such as Karavane and leads the Ensemble Samani.

 

He has performed in some distinguished festivals including the Music Festival in Sao Paolo, Persian Music Festival in Munich, Persian Music Festival in Sweden and Italy, Rhythm Stick Festival in London and Rhythm Festival DU Zurich and has played in such prestigious concert halls as the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Gasteig in Munich and Rasa in Utrecht.

 

He has performed for the SWF and WDR Radio Stations and has made numerous recordings and television appearances.