"When I sing, I don’t know if I am old or young, where I am from or where I belong. I feel I am a lover, or a mother, or a wanderer... I can cry and laugh out loud. My singing is a response to my life, and it gives voice to the deepest parts of me. It extends beyond everything I know, and I am one with it… it possesses my whole being."
- Mahsa Vahdat
Join renowned Persian vocalists Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat for a participatory vocal master class: The Blessing of Singing.
Participants will explore how to share their vulnerability and strength through song. We will discover paths to sharing sorrow, hope, and joy, through exposed and transparent group and individual vocalization. Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat's embodied experiences as banned singers in their homeland have led them on a lifelong mission to sustain freedom of expression, creativity, and growth. They are strong believers in the blessing of singing as a way to sustain one's spirit and voice, even in the face of outright discrimination or other obstacles internal or external.
The workshop will be held on the Zoom platform. Pre-registration is required. This class is limited to 20 participants. Links to the Zoom meeting and workshop materials will be shared in the days prior to each workshop.
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 style 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.