Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, the solo female voice has been restricted in Iran. Female singers are only permitted to perform in a choir. Female soloists are only allowed to sing before female-only audiences. The fact that this female vocal tradition has still been preserved in spite of these restrictions is incredibly inspiring and proves that it’s impossible to keep some artists from pursuing and transmitting their art, regardless of the risks and consequences. In fact, many Iranian female singers have chosen to walk their creative paths with even stronger conviction and dedication.

Mahsa Vahdat is one of these courageous Iranian singers. She has devoted her life and career to keep women's Persian vocal arts alive despite harsh restrictions upon her as a performer and teacher. In spite of difficulties in her homeland, she never gave up her life's mission and continues to perform and teach internationally.

March is Women's History Month and March 3 has been declared "Music Freedom Day" by the Freemuse Organization. We shall celebrate this day and month with a special tribute to women's voices in Iran. The evening will include tea and dialogue with Mahsa Vahdat in which she will present an overview of great Iranian women singers who have kept their rich vocal traditions alive despite the risks of great consequences. Mahsa will then teach a selection of stunning Persian songs.

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. She and her sister, Marjan, have taken part in numerous world music festivals and concerts in countries around the world and have been performing as independent singers and musicians for nearly 3 decades.

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.

Following the recording of "Lullabies album from the Axis of Evil" (2004), Mahsa and Marjan started a long-lasting collaboration with the Norwegian record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV). This led to a worldwide release of a series of award-winning and critically acclaimed albums.

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.

"To represent an old and great culture, appreciated by all in one's homeland and abroad, honored and heard by everybody, could consume a whole lifetime. It could fill a lifetime because the task is huge, and the longing to take on the task even greater. You can hear this great commitment in every tone, every part of Mahsa Vahdat's songs... this longing for life, for peace, for freedom. Mahsa Vahdat, together with her sister Marjan, tell us that they have not given up, and will never give up, the work of bringing the world’s people to an understanding that Iran is a nation of culture, a nation of poets and thinkers, and great singers male and female."   - Volker Magazine (DE)

Learn more about Mahsa Vahdat at:
www.mahsavahdat.net