TEHRAN -- Iran’s regional 
music traditions will take center stage this autumn as the 18th Iranian Regional Music Festival announces an open call for performers and researchers, alongside two concerts in Tehran featuring the Avacoub Orchestra and the all-female ensemble Avaye Sahra.
Organized by the Iran Music Association and the Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Kerman Province, with support from the Music Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Deputy for Artistic Affairs and the Kerman provincial government, the festival will take place from 30 November to 5 December 2026. 
Led by festival director Pirouz Arjomand, the program will extend across Kerman and other cities in the province, with national and international dimensions.
The festival’s call for entries invites artists working in Iran’s diverse regional and ethnic music traditions to apply for two strands: live performance and research. 
The dual emphasis positions the event as both a platform for musical practice and an opportunity to engage with the cultural knowledge, histories and traditions underpinning Iran’s regional sound worlds. Further details and registration are available through the festival’s official channels and the Bamack platform.
On October 15, the Avacoub Orchestra will perform at 9 p.m. in the main hall of Tehran’s Azadi Tower. Conducted by Shahabeddin Eftekhari, the ensemble features compositions and vocals by Pejman Pahlevani, bringing 
together a large instrumental and choral formation.
The approximately 50-member ensemble includes 25 daf players, 11 violinists and eight choir singers, alongside musicians playing a range of other instruments. 
The program’s personnel include arranger and pianist Bardia Seraj, orchestra manager Mitra Amiri and concertmaster Muhammad Asadollahi. Additional performers include Shahab Dabb on tar, Erfan Hosseini on kamancheh, Mahyar Ghahari on percussion, Arshia Abbaszadeh on bass and electric guitar, and Reza Kian on dammam.
The ensemble’s scale and instrumentation bring together choral writing, bowed strings and an extensive percussion section in a concert setting. The performance adds another entry to Tehran’s live music calendar, with Azadi Tower providing the architectural setting for the orchestra’s expansive sound.
The following day, October 16, the all-female ensemble Avaye Sahra will perform at Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran, with concerts scheduled for 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Both performances are reserved for women.
Led by Elham Karimi, who is also the ensemble’s vocalist and setar player, the group will present a program of nostalgic songs associated with prominent Iranian singers who are no longer living.
Rather than reproducing the songs as period pieces, the ensemble will revisit them through new arrangements and interpretations, placing familiar melodies in a contemporary performance context.
The announced repertoire includes Koodaki (Childhood), Che Royayi (What a Dream), Gol-e Sepid (White Flower), Avalin Didar (First Meeting), Chi Begam (What Can I Say?), Omid Janam and Dar In Donya (In This World), alongside Sakhtam Boti and an improvisational passage.
The performance brings together a substantial vocal ensemble. Katayoun Tehrani-Fard is credited as arranger and pianist, while Mahsa Moghilian contributes percussion. The choir includes Maryam Abolghasemi, Mahnoush Etesam, Saeedeh Bayat-Tork, Elaheh Paknejad, Sona Torabi, Sepideh Jaseb, Sahar Cheshmeh, Safoura Khannejad, Mahnaz Sabbaghi, Shabnam Kajouri, Maryam Karimi, Leili Muhammadian and Fariba Mousavi. Bayat-Tork is also listed in the concert’s public relations team.