Negar Booban, Oud and Vocals
The abundant references to the metamorphosis of spring that are found in Persian poetry constitute the theme for this solo performance by outstanding Iranian musician Negar Booban, who returns to Alwan after her successful sold-out debut performance in 2009.
About Nowruz
Nowruz ("New Day," originally "New Light"), the traditional celebration of the ancient Achaemenid (c. 648-330 BC) Iranian New Year, also widely referred to as the Persian New Year, is celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent including Kurds, Uzbeks, Afghans, Tajiks, and has spread in many other parts of the world. It marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar. Originally a Zoroastrian festival (and considered the holiest of them all), Nowruz is believed by some to have been invented by Zoroaster, the Iranian prophet, himself. Nowruz is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day, depending on where it is observed. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, those who celebrate it gather together to observe its rituals.
About the Artist
Born in Tehran in 1973, Negar Booban studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, earning an MA in Architecture with her design of Tehran’s future Conservatory. Focusing on special acoustic design, she concurrently studied music and musical acoustics, becoming interested in the principles of Iranian music of the past. Negar later mastered the oud and Iranian radif (a collection of old melodies handed down by masters to students throughout the generations) and since 1994 has worked with numerous ensembles of Iranian classical music. She has given over one hundred performances, including the Fajr and Yas Music Festivals, and made several recordings. Negar is also deeply involved with the art of improvisation, both in traditional dastgah (Persian musical modal system) and in free improvisation on themes of various origins and modes. Her solo oud album, Payaapey (Continuous), was released in August 2008. She holds a PhD in Art Research, with her dissertation on a comparative study of rhythm in Iranian music and Persian language and is currently an instructor of oud at the Tehran Conservatory of Music.
"Expression is what I most seek in music. Without discovering a distant or unseen part of the human soul, what can music be?"
- Negar Booban
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