SAEED FARAJPOORI is an award-winning composer, performer, and kamancheh teacher from Sanandaj, Iran. He started music lessons at the age of 9, and furthered his musical training by studying Persian classical repertoire (Radif) and ensemble work. Saeed’s mastery of the kamancheh has earned him a place among Iran's greatest performers, with whom he has toured in Asia, Europe, and North America.

FARIBA DAVODI is a musician, vocalist, and teacher who first captured the public’s eye in Iran, where she performed classical Persian songs and donated the proceeds from her shows. She has since appeared at numerous Canadian cultural events and ceremonies, including the Prismatic Arts Festival and Indian Festival in Halifax, establishing herself as a revered Persian artist. In 2010, Fariba opened a Canadian branch of the Avaye Mehr music and art school, where she continues to teach.

BAMDAD FOTOUHI is an Iranian percussionist best known playing the tombak. He recently published The Grey Years, an audio album of three percussive tracks. Bamdad’s past performances include an appearance at From Tehran to Toronto, where he performed contemporary Persian classical music, and at the Zangouleh Music School in Toronto, where he played the tombak during a musical tribute.

EHSAN GHAFARI was born in Mazandaran, Iran. He started singing at age 6, and learning tar at the age of 12. He completed the Radif of Persian music under Mohammad Reza Lotfi, and at Tehran University, he continued learning music under Mohsen Nafar, Dariush Talai and Hossein Alizadeh. Ehsan has also studied the vocal Radif with Ostad Sodeyf. He has toured in Europe with the Hannaneh ensemble and appeared at the Tirgan Festival in 2008 and 2015.

AMIR SAMIMI has been playing with a wide variety of bands for the last several years — from Toronto’s Flamenco Juerga to the Greek cover band Anathromi, the Pakistani rock band Swaras, and the Turkish Sufi Pop ensemble Bosphorus Project. For four years, he also played percussion for the Persian fusion band Akasha Five. With many successful recordings and festival performances behind him, Amir is currently playing with a percussion band called Kooban, which fuses Indian and Persian rhythms. He performed most recently with maestro Davood Azad at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts.

FARZAD ATTARJAFARI has classically training as a whirling dervish (Semazan), and has studied many forms of eastern mystical whirling and ceremonies. He has studied with teachers such as Kabir Helminski and Raqib Brian Burke of Vancouver. Farzad has been a part of many performances in the US and Canada, most recently at Tirgan Festival, Harbourfront Centre and the Aga Khan Museum. He is the head servant (director) of Rumi Canada.

SHENIZ JANMOHAMED is an author, educator, and spoken word artist with a Master’s degree in creative writing. She has performed nationally and internationally for over ten years for venues including the Jaipur Literature Festival and TedxYouth@Toronto. Sheniz has also authored two collections of poetry: “Bleeding Light” (2010) and “Firesmoke” (2014). She is currently a Mentor-Artist at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.