TEHRAN — A series of performances and a research session exploring Iranian music, mythology and traditional performance will take place at several Tehran cultural venues this week, including concerts by the Sallane Iranian Instruments Orchestra and the Faragh Iranian Music Orchestra.
The Sallane Orchestra, conducted by Danial Shah-Muhammadi Nabi, will perform at Roudaki Hall on Wednesday and Thursday, August 26 and 27, at 8 p.m., presenting works by Iranian composers.
The orchestra will perform in collaboration with the Sonora Choir, conducted by Ramtin Beiraghdar, with vocalist Soheil Rajab. The program will feature works by Ali Ebrahimi and Hamid Motebassem in two sections.
The first section includes “Rah-e Eshq,” “Sar Be Chogan,” “Maqam-e Ozlat” and “Neshesteh Dar Khoon,” composed by Ebrahimi to poetry by Hafez and Rumi. The second section features “Roudabeh and Zal,” a piece from Motebassem’s Simorgh album based on a poem by Ferdowsi.
The ensemble includes ney player Ali Husseini; kamancheh players Shamim Amani and Hamidreza Shamseini; alto gheychak player Baran Heyratpour; santur players Amir Rostami, Elyar Latifi and Helia Fazel; tar players Parsa Fathollahipour and Navid Larni; setar players Shabnam Amiri, Parmis Anjami and Aida Rajabi; qanun player Parva Sanati; oud players Muhammad Zayeri and Atena Kharyaband; bass santur player Yazdanmehr Mashayedi; mi-crotonal santur player Ali Muhammadi; tombak player Sara Ghazi; bendir player Melika Yahyaei; and daf and triangle player Nava Jalali.
The Faragh Iranian Music Orchestra, led and conducted by Hamidreza Javan in collaboration with Ava Music Academy, will perform on Friday, August 28, at 4 p.m. at the main hall of the Azadi Cultural and Artistic Complex. 
Vocalist Taher Husseini will join the ensemble for a program centered on works by influential Iranian musicians Muhammad Reza Lotfi and Parviz Meshkatian, newly arranged for Iranian instruments. Maryam Mehrabi, Asal Zandieh and Negar Ahmadi will also appear as backing vocalists.
Meanwhile, the performance The Legend of Shahmaran will be staged Tuesday, August 25, at 5:30 and 8 p.m. at the Azadi complex. 
Written by Ehsan Nowrouzi and directed by Haleh Zoughi, the production combines theater, music, movement and folkloric dance to offer a contemporary interpretation of the ancient regional legend. 
Karim Taghinejad serves as producer, artistic adviser, designer and actor coach, while Hussein Mokhtar-Tehrani is production and executive manager and Mehdi Khalilzadeh provides the narration.
The week’s program also includes a research session on Iranian dastgah music at Arasbaran Cultural Center on Tuesday, August 25, at 6 p.m. 
The session will examine the role of instrumental components in shaping the sound of the tar and setar. 
Arash Azadeh will moderate, with Mahmoud Farahmand, Siamak Ghalami and Amin Mirahmadi participating as speakers. Attendance is open to the public.