The first edition of the Tehran International Contemporary Music Festival was held last April at Roudaki Hall (Vahdat Hall), Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and Iranian Artists’ Forum. The festival, an independent cultural and artistic endeavor that is planned to be held annually, included lectures about contemporary music and art in general, different stage performances and experimental improvised presentations by more than thirty ensembles.

A wide spectrum of national musicians like Mehdi Behboudi, Mohammadreza Govahi, Sina Shoaei, Siavash Sojoudi, Kian Hosseini, groups like “Arvand”, “A4” and “Trans-Modern” string quartets, “O.R.P. Quartet” and “Anil Guitar Quartet”, along flute recitals by Firouzeh Navaei and Ali Choupani, violin by Arash Asadnejad, guitar by Farzin Tehranian, double bass by Farshid Patinian and more performed at the week-long event.

The festival welcomed also many artists from abroad, including Geert Callaert (Piano) and Bert Helsen (Bassoon) from Belgium, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Opia Ensemble with Aleksandra Pykacz (Cello) from Poland and Ioana Mandrescu (Piano) from Romania, Reso Kiknadze from Georgia (Saxophone and Free Improvisation), Lugano Ensemble from Switzerland and Martyna Kosecka (Piano and Electronics) from Poland.

Sources: Tehran Contemporary Music Frestival, Iran Daily, Facebook | Spectro Center,

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