Silk Road Ensemble Artists

Siamak Aghaei
santur/composer (b. 1974, Iran)

"In my work with the Silk Road Project I want to extend the compass of my musical imagination, to make a deeper and smoother connection with the audiences and musicians in our performances and to plunge into the kind of compound music that is composed by the best and performed by the best."

Siamak Aghaei, born in Ahvaz, ranks among the best Iranian classical musicians of his generation. He began studying the santur at the age of eight with renowned master Parviz Meshkatian and later the radif (Persian repertoire) with Majid Kiani. Since 1997 he has divided his musical interests between the study of folk music traditions of Iran and the performance of the classical santur. He has collected an audiovisual archive of music and instruments from Northern Khorasan and has arranged a series of lectures for radio on the different schools of santur playing and its techniques. In 2000, Aghaei was invited by Kayhan Kalhor to join his ensemble and the Silk Road Ensemble, with whom he tours internationally. He also performs with Ensemble Aftaab and Atlas Ensemble. Aghaei founded the group Santurnavazan (Santur Players) to promote the distinct performing techniques and sound combinations of his instrument. Aghaei received his degree in music from Tehran University of the Arts and resides in Tehran, where he is active as a teacher and performer of the santur.