The 17th Fajr International Music Festival will be held from February 6 to 19 at 10 Cultural Centers in Tehran with the participation of musicians from 9 foreign countries.

* "Chehel Daf" Group to Perform on 1st Day of Music Festival

- The Chehel Daf group conducted by composer Farshid Gharibnejad will perform traditional Iranian music concerts at the 17th Fajr International Music Festival from February 6 to 13 at the Sports and Cultural Center and Farhang Hall. The group was formed 2 years ago.

* Shams Tanbour Group to Perform in Festival

- The Shams Tanbour group conducted by Keikhosro Pournazeri will perform two concerts of traditional Iranian music at the 17th Fajr International Music Festival on February 8 and 15. The programs will be performed in Tanbour, Kurdish, and Farsi sections.

The pieces to be performed are Havaye Asheqi, Golshan-e Yad and Ansou Maro in the Tanbour section, Domakoch, Magari and Havarolanki in the Kurdish section, and Baraye Tou and Ey Del in the Farsi section.

Two women, Najmeh Tajaddod and Maryam Ebrahimipour, will sing the choral sections in these programs.

* Tjeknavorian to Perform "Love Night Story"

- Loris Tjeknavorian and the Armenian orchestra will perform a program entitled Love Night Story, which is the story of Shirin and Farhad by Nezami, at the 17th Fajr International Music Festival. Jaleh Sadeqian will narrate the program accompanied by a string section conducted by Tjeknavorian. It will be performed for the first time in Roudaki Hall on February 8 at 8:30 p.m.

According to Tjeknavorian, this program will probably also be performed on February 14 at Vahdat Hall at 8:30 p.m.

* Hemmatpour: Festivals, Places for Introducing Cultures

- The leader of the Hannaneh music group, Kamran Hemmatpour, said that the Fajr Music Festival has greatly developed and is introducing people to Iranian regional music. He added that the Hannaneh Tanbour Women's Group will attend the festival this year for the first time.

* Mousavizadeh: Fajr Music Festival Has Developed

- The leader of Fakhteh music group, Reza Mousavizadeh, said that holding the Fajr Music Festival is a positive step and that it has developed. He added, "We will perform in two sections this year. Our group consists of young people who are presenting new works inspired by Iran's cultural heritage. ry