When he was just 20 years old, Amir Amiri arrived in Canada from Tehran for a six-month residency in Western classical music at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Now based in Montreal, he has become a leading figure in this country’s growing world music scene. For Sounds of Persia: Canada’s New Music Masters, Amir has invited some of Canada’s best world music artists for an unforgettable evening that celebrates the emergence of Persian culture in Canada.

A santur virtuoso (the santur is a 72-string hammer dulcimer), Amir will be joined by Showan Tavakol on kamancheh and Behnaz Sohrabi on rabab.

Also joining Amir will be five of Toronto’s finest players: Maneli Jamal, an award-winning solo acoustic guitarist; bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi, a musical chameleon who has played with everyone from rockers Protest the Hero to a 14-piece country swing band; and Persian percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand. Shaho Andalibi is one of the world’s leading ney players; and on kanun, Sanaz Nakhjavani is arguably today’s most gifted female player of mugham music.

Sounds of Persia celebrates this country’s hidden gems – a wealth of talented world musicians who have arrived in Canada over the decades. Often labouring under the radar of mainstream culture, these exceptional Persian artists explore musical boundaries and ultimately prove there are none!