TEHRAN – The 6th edition of the Ayenedar Regional and Ritual Music Festival was brought to an end at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Sunday by honoring Turkmen musicians this year.

Groups and musicians from northeastern Iranian cities and the Qazvin Plain, which are home to the Iranian Turkmen population, gave performances during the festival that opened on December 11.

Durdi Turik, Ashur Mohammad Balyakhmaz, Araz Mohamamd Bakhusi, Baratali Yeganeh, Taqi Yusefnia, Ahmad Keshvad, Ashur Galdi Barzi and Gelayam Eili were the Turkmen musicians who were honored with awards at the closing ceremony of the festival this year. 

Musician Alireza Soleimani, a student of late Haj Qorban Soleimani, the veteran dotar player from the Khorasan region, gave a performance at the ceremony to celebrate the registration of Iran’s traditional skills of crafting and playing the dotar on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last week. 

The festival also honored master musicians from the Khorasan region, including Issa Qolipur, Ramezanali Soltani, Hossein Azizipur, Heidar-Ali Asheq, Fereidun Gholami and Alireza Soleimani. 

Composer Hassan Zandbaf, santur player Susan Aslani and several other musicians from Tehran were also awarded.

The director of the festival, Ali Maghazei, also said that the organizers plan to shut down the festival in the next edition as its mission will be completed by introducing folk music in seven Iranian regions. 

The previous edition of the festival put its spotlight on folk music from the northern provinces of Gilan, Golestan and Mazandaran.

The closing ceremony of the sixth edition of the festival ended with a performance of a lullaby from the Turkmen region by Mohammad Ili and Gelayem Ili.

Photo: Folk musicians perform during 5th Ayenedar Regional and Ritual Music Festival at Tehran’s Rudaki Hall on December 1, 2018. (Ayenedar Regional and Ritual Music Festival)

RM/MMS/YAW