Qalandar | Vashaan

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Vashaan

Gathering together some of the finest classically trained Persian musicians in Canada, the Vashaan Ensemble draws upon Iran’s rich musical past to perform joyful and memorable Persian traditional songs. The Vashaan Ensemble was formed in 2011 as a project to explore and present forms of Iranian music that have rarely been heard in North America.

Their first collaboration, "Shadmaneh", brought lost melodies and unknown musical styles of Southeastern Iran to a wide range of listeners in an effort to demonstrate how rich and cheerful Iranian traditional music can be. The ensemble has since formed into a professional yet close-knit group of musicians that continue to explore the broad range of traditional Persian music styles and perform for a wide range of North American audiences.

Group Members: Fathieh Honari – vocalist | Reza Honari – kamanche | Gordon Grdina – oud | Ali Razmi – setar and voice | Kenton Loewen – percussion

Qalandar

Qalandar melds traditional Persian music with free improvisation. The group performs traditional pieces as well as contemporary compositions. The music is virtuosic and imbued with fire yet the aesthetic is quite delicate and lyrically moving. Each musician is a master in his own right but hold the ideals of deep personal interpretation and interplay supreme.

Musician Gordon Grdina (pictured) has performed in many different contexts since graduating from Capilano College, with a degree in Jazz Studies, back in 2000. As a member of Dan Mangan's band as well as the leader of several jazz and world music ensembles (such as Sangha, which also includes fellow Cap grads Hidayat Honari and Neelamjit Dhillon) Grdina is used to working in a wide range of formats as a guitarist and oud player.

"We're still working on repertoire," says Grdina. "We're working on where we're going to push the direction of the band. Everybody's written stuff for the band. I have three tunes in mind that are sort of in an Arabic style with some universal things. There's nothing that is specifically Persian but it works within the repertoire that we know together and then Ali has written some tunes that are pretty traditionally Persian. I think he's going to do some singing on it too. Resa has also written some pieces for it and then there's a piece that Neel wrote for Sangha in a Persian style. There's not really a classic repertoire that we're doing in this band - it's more of a contemporary take on Persian ideas."

Group Members: Fathieh Honari – vocalist | Reza Honari – kamanche | Gordon Grdina – oud | Ali Razmi – setar and voice | Kenton Loewen – percussion

(Some of the description of Qalander was taken from an interview done by John Goodman, originally published in the North Shore News.)

Learn more about the the Persian New Year NOROOZ ("New Day") here.

COVID-19 Policy: We are operating in full compliance of all BC Health restrictions. We are limiting our maximum in-person audiences to 70% capacity. The wearing of masks is required when not seated. This includes when dancing. Social distancing is enccouraged.  Everyone in attendance must have proof of being fully vaccinated. Volunteers, staff and performers will be as well. (If you haven't been vaccinated, the concert will be streamed.) Restrictions may change if subsequent BC Health announcements are made.

The Rogue Folk Club is pleased to provide great Sponsorship Opportunities for all our shows. For a nominal cost, individuals or businesses can sponsor any of our shows and reap a number of benefits - free tickets, reserved table, recognition on literature, our web site and at the concerts. For more information simply contact our Sponsorship Director Morris Biddle at mobiddley@me.com