Ardeshir Kamkar ( fa, اردشیر کامکار , born 1962 in

Sanandaj Sanandaj (Persian: سنندج, ; ku, سنە, Sine, often romanized as Senneh, is the capital of Kurdistan Province in Iran. With a population of 414,069, Sanandaj is the twenty third largest city in Iran and the second largest Kurdish city. San ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

musician from

. He started his music training under the supervision of his father. He came to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in 1980 and continued studying traditional arrangements under

Mohammad Reza Lotfi Mohammad-Reza Lotfi ( fa, محمدرضا لطفی; 1 January 1947 – 2 May 2014) was an Iranian classical musician renowned for his mastery of the tar and setar. He collaborated with singers such as Mohammad-Rezā Shajarian, Hengameh Akhavan, ...

and his brother

Pashang Pashang ( fa, پَشَنْگ) is the name of two separate characters in Persian Mythology. According to Ferdowsi's epic the ''Shahnameh'', he is of the race of Tur the son of Fereydun and the father of Afrasiab. He was an early king of Turan. In ...

. Ardeshir has always been keen to explore the range and capabilities of the

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and ...

, for which he has written a number of pieces and books. Kamkar has played with several famous ensembles such as, Dastan,

Aref Arif or Aref may refer to: *Arif, a local name for the Rif mountains in northern Morocco *Arif (given name) *Arif (surname) *‘arif, a concept in Sufism, see Ma'rifa *Arif gang {{Disambig ...

and Sheyda. In the album of ''Dastan'' (1364

Iranian calendar The Iranian calendars or Iranian chronology ( fa, گاه‌شماری ایرانی, ) are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Iran, also known as Persia. One of the longest chronological records in human history, ...

) he accompanied the improvisation of M. R. Shajarian. He has recently worked with the talented vocalist,

Homayoun Shajarian Homayoun Shajarian ( fa, همايون شجريان, born May 21, 1975) is an Iranian singer. He is the son of Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. Early life Shajarian was born in Tehran and is the son of Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, a grand master vocalist ...

. He has also international collaboration. One well received album of which is titled "From Pontos to Persia" (Greek Άπο τον Πόντο στην Περσία) which according to some sources "is a unique CD which combines the music of Pontos and that of Persia.

Matthaios Tsahouridis Matthaios Tsahouridis (Greek: Ματθαίος Τσαχουρίδης; born 18 September 1978) is a Pontic Greek musician and composer who plays a range of stringed musical instruments. He was born in Veria, Greece, and started performing music ...

plays the

Pontic Lyra Pontic, from the Greek ''pontos'' (, ), or "sea", may refer to: The Black Sea Places * The Pontic colonies, on its northern shores * Pontus (region), a region on its southern shores * The Pontic–Caspian steppe, steppelands stretching from ...

accompanied by Ardeshir Kamkar on the Iranian Kamancheh and Hussein Zahawy on the daf. Songs include

Improvisation, Union, Horizons, The Meeting, Solo Daf and Iranian Kamancheh Improvisation."