Kamyar Arsani & Huda Asfour Interview

The Library's John Fenn interviewed musicians Kamyar Arsani and Huda Asfour.

Speaker Biography: Huda Asfour comes from a musical family and began formal training in music in Tunis at the age of 13. In 1996, she joined the National Conservatory of Music in Gaza. She was mentored by Khaled Jubran at the Edward Said Music Conservatory and by Qanoun player Said Rajab in Cairo, Egypt. In 2004, Asfour, together with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, co-founded Jehar band, a musical experiment which molded Arabic folk and the classical Levantine Arabic repertoire into reinterpretations that would be relatable to young Palestinians emerging from the siege of the Second Intifada. Asfour is the recipient of the 2009 Production Cultural Program by Al Mawred Al Thaqafi and the 2014 music production grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture.

Speaker Biography: Kamyar Arsani is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter born and raised in Tehran, Iran. At age 7, Arsani began daf (Persian frame drum) lessons with Master Bijan Kamkar. Kamyar also spent time playing meditative rhythms for hours at a time for Sufis. His second instrument is the kamancheh (Persian bowed string instrument), and he studied it with Masters Ardeshir Kamkar and Sohrab Pournazeri. Arsani has also taught himself how to play other instruments including guitar, a variety of percussion instruments, melodica, ukulele and more. His songs and performances are inspired by the people of Iran and their history of struggle and protest.

For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/fea...