Silk Road Institute brings world music to Bloomington

Four Iranian musicians brought the sights and sounds of the Silk Road to Bloomington.

Nearly 50 people gathered Saturday in the Kelley School of Business for a two-hour concert. The musicians came to be a part of “Masters of Classical Music of Iran,” a program presented by The Silk Road Institute and Silk Road Ensemble.

“The board of The Silk Road Institute is dedicated to preserving and promoting the musical heritage of the Silk Road,” said Sarah Forbey, Silk Road Ensemble and Silk Road Institute administrative director. “We offer a variety of programs, a rare instrument collection, jam sessions, and eventually we will have expeditions.”

The Silk Road is the network of extensive trade routes across Asia that connected it to the rest of the world. The program’s musicians included Jalal Zolfonoon, Simal Pouian, Soheil Zolfonoon and Shahyar Daneshgar. Jalal Zolfonoon and his son, Soheil Zolfonoon, have toured Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States and have been widely acclaimed as the premier Iranian musicians of the instruments setar and tar, respectively.

Pouian is a Iranian and Persian tonbak player. He is trained in classical tonbak and known throughout the world as well as currently teaching at the University of California Santa Barbara. The final musician, Central Eurasian studies professor Daneshgar, is the director of the Silk Road Ensemble and Institute.

The concert began with the song “Dar in Dunya” (“I Feel Lonely in This World”) composed by Emad Rom. The musicians continued to play “Shahr Ashub,” “Dilaman,” “Navai, Navai” (“Lament”) and “Negah Yaran” (“Glances of Beauties”) without a break in their musical flow.

Daneshagar then stopped to tell the audience a bit about the music and poetry they had been performing.

“There is a lot of relationship between Iranian music and poetry,” Daneshagar said. “The poetry reflects the emotions we have been singing about.”

He then introduced the solo section of the concert, and Soheil Zolfonoon started by playing the tar.

Pouian then played a solo section on the tonbak. After his solo improvisation, Pouian received a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd.

The final song before intermission was Soheil Zolfonoon’s composition “Dar in Khaneh Begardid” (“The Beloved is Among Ourselves”).

“The song says you don’t have to look around for love – it’s here,” Daneshgar said.
The concert continued with “Ey Sareban” (“Caravan Leader”), “Tammannay-e Vesal” (“In Search of Union”), “Sari Gelin” (“My Fair Bride”), “Shekayat-e Del” (“Complaints of a Lover”) and “Dolet-e Eshgh” (“Passionate Love”).

Daneshgar said the final two songs were musical compositions to the words of Rumi poems.

After the final song, the crowd cheered for an encore improvisation performance.
The concert ended dynamically with a tour-de-force presentation of the musicians displaying their skills with call-and-response and improvisation. The audience seemed utterly entranced by the sights and sounds of the performers.

Graduate student Meg White said she really enjoyed the musicians’ use of improvisation and the knowledge of Iranian music and poetry that they shared with the audience.

“I thought it was all just really great,” White said.