WESTLOCK — The contemporary, classical sounds of the santur will grace the stage at the Westlock Cultural Arts Theatre Feb. 17 when Farhad Khosravi and fellow musician Murray Smith perform as part of the 2022-2023 Cultural Arts Theatre Society (CATS) performance series.
Khosravi, a musician for more than 20 years from Iran will entertain audience members on the ancient Persian instrument called a santur and will be joined on percussion by Smith, who is filling in for Daniel Stadnicki who could not attend. The performance at the Cultural Arts Theatre Feb. 17 begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets can be bought in person at MTech Printing and Signs in Westlock at 10039 - 107th Street, or by visiting www.WestlockCulturalArtsTheatre.com, then following the links.
“It is my first time in Westlock and I’m looking forward to it,” said Khosravi. “We mostly have played in smaller towns, but I’m really excited about coming to Westlock to meet the people there.”
Noting recent performances in small towns across the prairies and a few larger cities including those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Khosravi said he enjoys playing his music and sharing the unique sounds and stories about the santur.
“Most people we meet haven’t seen or heard of this instrument before. It’s really exciting to talk about the instrument and show it (to people),” he said, noting he began performing the santur in Canada in 2012 and has performed his own compositions since 2017, when his first of two albums was released. “Sleeping in Sorrow” debuted in 2017 and the second album, “Mosafer (a Persian word for traveller) came out in 2020.
While he has played traditional Persian music over the years, he will be sharing several contemporary, classical Persian instrumental songs during his Westlock performance and will share stories each piece as well as some facts about them.
“Like any other instrument, you can play all kinds of music on it as long as you tune it accordingly,” explained Khosravi. “I want to play something that the audience can connect to and understand more. The music is influenced by Persian music but is more like contemporary Persian …the melodies might resemble something that is (unique) but at the same time is something that is familiar in terms of classical music.”
In addition to entertaining the crowd, Khosravi wants to help Westlock residents experience a new kind of music, with a new texture and sound, as well as learn about the santur and help the audience connect to the contemporary, classical Persian music.
“I really believe that music should have something to say and for me the music that I write, that’s the mindset in my head when I write them,” said Khosravi. “I have had people who heard the music for the first time and they were touched by it. That’s mainly my aim, to connect to all different kinds of audiences no matter what their background is — I think music is like a universal language that can (share) about the experiences we all have no matter where we live.”
