Back to All Events

Landscapes of Persian Song: A Workshop Series with Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat


The Kitka Institute is pleased to present a series of 12 vocal workshops over 6 weekends led by world renowned Persian vocalists Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat.

The focus of each weekend will alternate between sessions with Mahsa that will guide students on an intensive exploration of dastgah (the Persian modal system of melodic patterns that provide an vocabulary for improvisation and individual expression), and sessions with Marjan that will focus on Iran's diverse regional music traditions.

Students are welcome to choose any of the following workshop packages:

-Full 12 workshop series ($300 for 12 workshops)

-3 weekends/6 Dastgah workshops with Mahsa Vahdat ($165 for 6 workshops)

-3 weekends/6 Regional music workshops with Marjan Vahdat ($165 for 6 workshops)

-Weekend/2-workshop intensives with either Mahsa or Marjan ($58 for 2 workshops)

-Individual workshops ($30 each)

The workshop schedule shall be:

January 16 & 17: Mahoor Dastgah with Mahsa Vahdat

January 23 & 24: Iranian Song Traditions of Lorestan with Marjan Vahdat

January 31 & 31: Shour Dastgah with Mahsa Vahdat

February 6 & 7: Iranian Song Traditions of Khorosan with Marjan Vahdat

February 13 &14: Homayoun Dastgah with Mahsa Vahdat

February 20 & 21: Iranian Song Traditions of Kurdistan with Marjan Vahdat

These workshops, held on the Zoom platform, will be "masterclass" format with all students receiving individual attention and feedback on their singing. It is also possible to participate as a workshop listener only if the student prefers not to sing alone in the class.

Links to the Zoom workshop and workshop materials will be emailed to all registrants prior to the workshop.

Admission for each workshop is limited to 20 participants.

Workshops will run 90-120 minutes, depending on the number of participants.

ABOUT OUR TEACHING ARTISTS:

MAHSA VAHDAT is an award-winning performer of Persian vocal art and a strong advocate of freedom of expression in music. Her career has given a deeper knowledge of Iranian poetry and music to large audiences in the world and has taken Persian poetry and music to new heights. Mahsa believes in creating a universal expression of music based on her traditional and regional musical roots. Without being visible in her own society because of restrictions of female solo voice after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran, she and her sister Marjan Vahdat have continuous contact with a large audience who appreciate their art, both in Iran and abroad.

Mahsa has three decades of pedagogical experience in teaching classical Persian music to Iranian, and non-Iranian students alike, and has mentored her students on a variety of wide-ranging collaborative projects. On June 19, 2020 Mahsa celebrated the release of her new Enlighten the Night CD (available on the KKV label).

For more information, visit https://mahsavahdat.net/

MARJAN VAHDAT Iranian singer Marjan Vahdat's career has given a deeper knowledge about Iranian poetry and music to large audiences in Europe, America, Asia, Oceania and Africa. Marjan has developed her personal style based on the Persian vocal tradition of classical and regional folk music, with a contemporary expression. she always searched for ways to make her music relevant to the present world. Even if the origin of her styles is Iranian, she believes in her music’s ability to express a universal message of humanism and freedom.

Since 1995 she has performed as an independent singer and musician in many concerts and festivals in Asia, Europe, America and Africa. Following her participation in the album Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2004), Marjan together with her sister Mahsa started a long lasting collaboration with the Norwegian record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) and This collaboration led to a worldwide release of a series of records and a number of tours and concerts in many countries.