Ashkan Layegh Becomes First Iranian to Win Royal Academy of Music Scholarship
Ashkan Layegh, a 20-year-old musical prodigy, has won a full scholarship to study piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is believed to be the first Iranian-born musician to...
Women-Only Cast in Iran to Perform Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ for Women-Only Audience
An all-female production of Carmen, the famous opera written by the French composer George Bizet (1838 – 1875), is soon to be staged for an all-women audience at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, formerly known as...
Iranian Pianist Arash Rokni Wins Second Place in Bach Competition
Iranian musician Arash Rokni has won the second prize in the piano section of the 2018 Johann Sebastian Bach competition, held between July 11 and 21 in Leipzig, Germany.
Mr. Rokni attended the School Of...
Teaching Tar and Setar on YouTube: Interview with Sahba Motallebi
By Firouzeh Ramezanzadeh
Sahba Motallebi is an Iranian musician, songwriter and player of tar and setar (Iranian string instruments) Motallebi was born in 1978 in Tehran. She is a graduate of the Tehran Conservatory of...
The Iranian Soprano: Interview with Shaqayeq Kamali
By Firoozeh Ramezanzadeh
The Iranian soprano Shaqayeq Kamali was born in Tehran. She studied piano and voice at Tehran University’s School of Arts. She left Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and continued her studies...
Shakespeare in Farsi: London’s Saam Theatre Group Turns Newly Arrived Iranians into Actors
By Susanna Huth
Every September, a Persian-English theater festival is organized in London. Highly popular with the Iranian community, it brings together drama talents from all over the world to celebrate aspects of Iranian culture in both Farsi and English.
Every September, a Persian-English theater festival is organized in London. Highly popular with the Iranian community, it brings together drama talents from all over the world to celebrate aspects of Iranian culture in both Farsi and English.
Iran Has Banned 52 Women Musicians from Performing Since January
The Iranian authorities have banned the cellist Elmira Nematzadeh and the daf player Negar Ezazi, two female members of the music band Hamnavazan Hesar, from accompanying the tar virtuoso, songwriter and singer Ali Ghamsari...
After Live Duet With Female Artist, Musician Ali Ghamsari Banned from Performing
9 Jan- The Iranian authorities have banned the tar virtuoso, songwriter and singer Ali Ghamsari from recording and performing in public after he accompanied the solo vocalist Haleh Seyfizadeh in a concert on January...
Iran’s National Orchestra Gets Its First Female Conductor: Nezhat Amiri
Nezhat Amiri has been appointed as the first female conductor of Iran’s national orchestra. She will assume the post on August 30 at the Vahdat (formerly Roudaki) Concert Hall in Tehran.
This is the first...
Iranian-Irish Fusion Band Nava Is Nominated for Irish Folk Award; We Meet Co-Founder Coohe
By Kayhan Life Staff
Nava is a four-person Iranian-Irish musical group based in Dublin. Formed in 2016 by Irish folk and bluegrass musicians Paddy Kiernan and Niall Hughes, and Iranian born brothers Shahab and Shayan...














