Tehran to open 32nd Fajr Music Fest

The 32nd edition of Fajr International Music Festival, Iran’s most prestigious music event, is to kick off in Tehran.

The organizers announced that the 2017edition of the event is slated to be held on January 11-20.

The festival includes national and international competition sections with additional category for this year, titled ‘Cultural Iran’.

In addition to various Iranian ensembles, as well as Tehran Symphony Orchestra, a number of foreign musicians from Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan Republic, India, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany and Japan among others will take part in the festival.

Fajr International Music Festival is Iran’s most prestigious Music Festival was founded in 1986, several years after the formation of the film and theatre festivals in the artistic sphere of Iran.

Since then, the festival has enjoyed strong performances of many famous national and international artists.

The 2017 edition of the event is directed by Iranian musician and traditional vocalist Hamid-Reza Nourbakhsh, who is also the current director of Iran’s House of Music.

The festival is a platform to introduce and create awareness about less-known musicians, Nourbakhsh said.

“Prizes will be awarded to sections such as performance, composition, singing and arrangement; but there will be more prizes this year. In the course of time, the festival will be expanded to include a section for first-timers,” he also noted.

MG/FGF