Performance Experience

Sohrab Pournazeri had several performances at leading venues across the globe, including Theatre de la Ville in Paris, Jazz Lincoln Center in New York, Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, Palace of Fine Arts and Zellerbach Hall in San Francisco, Eisemann Center in Dallas, Microsoft Theatre, Royce Hall and Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, in San Francisco, Strathmore Hall in Washington, London’s Barbican Hall, Gutenberg’s Concert Hall, Düsseldorf’s Tonhalle and Brussel’s Bozar and CRR Concert Hall in Istanbul, among numerous others.

300 Show – GĀT

Tahmoures & Sohrab Pournazeri take 300 on stage with a new approach to the story.
This new story is written by Mohammad Rahmanian and is named “Gaat”.
Sohrab Pournazeri, who took 300-show with a story about burning and saving Shahname in July 2022, will take this performance on stage with a new story on the resistance of Shirazi people against the attack of the Mongolians. They resist the demolition of Persepolis, take the position of Jam-e-Jam, and prohibition of Farsi language.
300 concert-performance, Gaat, will be performed on stage from July 2024 in Sa’d Abad Cultural Complex.
This captivating concert was a testament to the rich cultural heritage of Iran and its vibrant musical traditions.

The Mirrors (Ayneha Concert Tour)

This concert tour featured music composed by Mr. Pournazeri on the Tanbour, Kamencheh, as well as internationally renowned singer Homayoun Shajarian. The group has performed over 50 times across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The group performed at the distinguished 2013 Mawazine Music Festival in Morocco, the most important event in the city of Maghreb, The Tehran Music Festival, as well as at the UNESCO (United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture) conference, promoting peace and cultural tolerance. Moreover, the group’s performance at the Theater de la villa was broadcast on France Musique, the French public radio station. Their subsequent album, “The Lord of Secrets,” was one of the best-selling albums in all of Iran. Their music was covered by the leading music publications in Iran including MusicIranian, Musicma, Namehnews, Mehr, and Momtaznews.

UCLA Nowrouz Concert

Farhang Foundation proudly presented the much-anticipated return of our NOWRUZ CONCERT at UCLA’s prestigious Royce Hall on March 10, 2024. It was an evening filled with extraordinary talent as we were honored to showcase the remarkable skills of Tamoures Pournazeri and Sohrab Pournazeri, accompanied by an ensemble of exceptional musicians, including the illustrious Sahar mohammadi, two-time Grammy-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, and the brilliant The Iranshahr Orchestra, skillfully conducted by Dr. Shahab Paranj. We were also honored to feature music by some of the most illustrious composers of today, including Richard Danielpour, David Garner, Ahmad Pejman, and Reza Vali.
This captivating concert was a testament to the rich cultural heritage of Iran and its vibrant musical traditions.

Dar Havaye Bi Chegounegi

The show created by Sohrab Pournazeri & Ali Ghamsari. The pieces are created in Iranian traditional music terms and based on improvising.

The show was placed in Sa’ad Abad Complex in Tehran, and runs for 23 nights, and more than twenty-thousands people watched the show.

The musical instruments that used in the show was Tanbour, Kemanche and Setaar by Sohrab Pournazeri, Taar and Divan by Ali Ghamsari.
The show was held in May & June 2023 in Tehran, and performed again in January 2024 as a tour in Iran cities like Sari, Gorgan, Semnan and …

And it continues as the world tour in February and March in Germany, Belgium and …

The 300 Show

Sisad or 300, is an epic show inspired by Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel, “Fahrenheit 451” depicting the Mongolia’s invasion of Neshabour city of Persia, and destroying all the libraries and books in Iran specially Ferdosi’s most celebrated book “Shahnameh”, and the fact that if the book was destroyed, the Persian language was diminished, but with the wisdom of Iranian people, they rescued this important heritage.

PLOT: The story is set in Neshabour, a cultural hub of the time, as the Mongolian army relentlessly searches for the one book that can destroy the Persian heritage and do the most damage. This book is what we know as the book of kings.

The Mongolians try to use the help of Neshaburian locals and find a man by the name of Ghariv whose job is to burn books. He who is our protagonist, agrees to help in exchange for riches and as he searches the city he encounters a woman by the name of Iran who with the help of her scholarly father is hiding all the books and unexpectedly falls in love with her.

Through this encounter, he starts to understand the value of books and especially the book of kings. However there are other machinations at play and as our story unravels, in a shocking final act we witness our hero betray Iran and deliver all the books to the Mongolians for a burning feast as she watches in horror and disgust. The Mongols feast and gloat as they celebrate their victory.

Through this encounter, he starts to understand the value of books and especially the book of kings. However there are other machinations at play and as our story unravels, in a shocking final act we witness our hero betray Iran and deliver all the books to the Mongolians for a burning feast as she watches in horror and disgust. The Mongols feast and gloat as they celebrate their victory.

The show was created by Sohrab Pournazeri and directed by Amir Jadidi, and the music pieces are created by Sohrab and Tahmoures Pournazeri.

The show was placed in Sa’ad Abad complex and runs for about a month, and in every night more than 4000 people watched the show.

C Project

In the summer of 2017, Sohrab performed the ‘C Project’ for the first time alongside Homayoun Shajarian in Tehran’s historical Saadabad Palace Complex, a project he created with the aim of reviving the “wisdom” and old traditions of the Shahnameh (‘The Book of Kings’) for the young generation and familiarizing the audience with the roots of ancient Iranian culture and literature. In this project, Iranian musicians work alongside actors, artists, a film crew, and lighting and sound experts in order to create a unique multifaceted experience for the audience.

Colors of Transcendence

Mr. Pournazeri teamed with the legendary Ostad (master) Mohammed-Reza Shajarian on a series of concerts throughout the world. Ostad Shajarian is considered “Iran’s greatest living master of traditional Persian music” (Los Angeles Times) and one of the world’s “50 Great Voices” (NPR). Mr. Shajarian is also a two-time Grammy nominee, and recipient of UNESCO’s Picasso and Mozart medals. Mr. Pournazeri performed the kamancheh, tanbour, and shahrashoub for the group, as well as composed music for the group, with performances ranging across several cities in the United States and Canada. The group’s tour was covered by leading media outlets such as Examiner, WN.com, San Francisco Sentinel, San Francisco Classical Voice, KPFK, and Cal Performances.

Why Did You Leave Me

This is the title of the concert tour in support of the studio album Beyond Any Form, featuring Mr. Sohrab Pournazeri American composer David K. Garner, Indian Sitar virtuoso Shujaat Khan, Venezuelan flautist Pedro Eustache, American blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson. The tour performed all over Iran, in cities such as Kerman, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Orumieh, Ahvaz, and Isfahan. The group’s tour was covered by leading media outlets such as Fars News, Mehrnews, Musicma, MusiceIranian, Tasnim News Agency, ISNA, Mr. Pournazeri held the critical and leading role of tanbour and kamancheh player for this album and tour.

 Nishtiman

This group was formed in 2014 by percussionist Hussein ZAHAWY, who requested Sohrab POURNAZERI, singer, tanbour and kamancheh player, to compose a highly original repertoire for a group of musicians from various nationalities around the music, language and culture of the Kurdish people. All members of the group are musicians with curriculum vitaes marked as much by their personal roots as by open-mindedness, who have often explored and embraced (in Europe or the Middle East) other musical expressions. Their album was released by Accords Croisés and received high praise from the distinguished French magazine Telerama, rating it as one of the top-rated albums. The group’s tour was covered by leading publications such as BBC, Les InRocks, Telerama, Liberation, as well as a host of Iranian press reviews. Mr. Pournazeri held the critical and leading role of composer, singer, tanbour and kamancheh player for this group.

The Art of Improvisation, U.S. Tour

Singer and composer Sohrab Pournazeri started his American tour by holding a concert at Palladium Musicum, Greenwich, Connecticut, on November 2011. Cities of Nashville, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles were on his stops.
The musical selections included original compositions of the Pournazeri family interspersed with improvisation as the first part of the events. A discussion about Persian music and its distinctiveness was part of his program, ISNA reported.
Second part of the concert focused on performing pieces from composers Richard Danielpour, David Garner, Ian Krouse and Shahab Paranj. Pournazeri (on tanbour and kamancheh) and Paranj (on percussion instruments) were accompanied by an American string quartet in their performance.

First Istanbul International Folk Music Festival

Iranian singer Homayoun Shajarian, known for his awesome guttural tricks, performed on Monday night for Istanbul’s music lovers at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall for the first time, as part of the First Istanbul International Folk Music Festival. Shajarian was accompanied by Tahmoures and Sohrab Pournazeri whose creativity and inventiveness have marked them as distinguished artists of their generation.

Konya Mystic Music Festival

Accompanied by Shams ensemble and Sohrab Pournazeri, Homayoun Shajarian staged the concert in the 15th Konya Mystic Music Festival and performed tracks composed by Kaykhosro Pournazeri.
The 2018 Konya Mystic Music Festival is the 15th edition of the event with the participation of 133 musical group from 47 countries, this year it marked the anniversary of the birth of Jalal-ud-Din Rumi.

FES Festival, Morocco

From the Western Iranian province of Kermanshah, Ensemble Shams delivered a captivating performance underneath the baking sun of Fez’s Jardin Jnan Sbil. Inspired by a fusion of Sufi, Persian and Kurdish classical music, their work celebrates the poetry of the great Sufi Master Rumi. Sohrab Pournazeri as a member of Shams Ensemble had an incomparabe performance at the FES Festival.

Barana Music Festival (Niavaran Palace)

The Barana Music Festival was held in the summer of 2016 for seven nights at Tehran’s Niavaran Palace, with the presence of well-known Iranian and international musicians. This series of open-air performances was well-received by young and old audiences alike. Mr. Pournazeri performed as Tanbour Player and vocalist with the Shams Ensemble. He also had an unforgettable performance alongside Antonio Ray.

Barana Music Festival (Bisotun)

The Barana Music Festival in Bisotun brought together a number of prominent Iranian and international artists to perform in the historical Bisotun complex near the Iranian city of Kermanshah. This festival, held in August 2016 and aiming to link Iran’s ancient history and architecture with traditional Iranian music, included performances by Sohrab Pournazeri as a member of Shams Ensemble and alongside Antonio Ray.

Iran-e Man Tour (Iran, Canada, America)

Renowned vocalist Homayoun Shajarian performed on stage alongside celebrated musicians Tahmoures and Sohrab Pournazeri at the Interior Ministry’s Grand Hall in Tehran for 8 nights in December 2017, 4 nights around Canada in May 2018 and 4 nights around America in April 2019. Music performed during this concert series included pieces from the albums “Subdued”, “Beyond Any Form”, and “Heavy Makeup” in addition to a number of new compositions.

Nowruz Celebration in Orange County

On March 24th, 2019 Farhang Foundation and the prestigious Pacific Symphony under the direction of maestro Carl St. Clair welcomed the magnificent Homayoun Shajarian, Sohrab Pournazeri and maestro Shardad Rohani to Orange County for an unforgettable and moving concert performance in celebration of Nowruz.

Tiny Desk Concert with Mohammad Reza Shajarian, NPR

Every Tiny Desk Concert provides its own particular thrill, but it’s not every day that we get to welcome one of NPR’s 50 Great Voices to our offices.
NPR : With the visit of the incredible, honey-voiced Mohammad Reza Shajarian from Iran, we lucked out by having him sing on not just any day, but on the biggest holiday of the Persian calendar: Nowruz, the New Year. Joined by three excellent collaborators, brothers Sohrab and Tahmoures Pournazeri (celebrated musicians in their own right as leaders of Iran’s Shams Ensemble) and French percussionist Robin Vassy, Ostad (“Master”) Shajarian gave what amounted to a brief master class in the art of singing.

TEDx Performance – Music, a Breakthrough Value

TEDx: Iranian musician, Sohrab Pournazeri who can’t remember life before music or imagine life without it, discusses the value of a work of art and how can we preserve this value. To open his talk, Sohrab treats us to a haunting, intimate Tanbour improvisation which is rarely heard outside of traditional eastern performances.