The Iranian Student Association (IRSA) was established in 2011 and became an official Auburn University student organization in 2012. Since then, members have been actively performing in its events. In 2014, IRSA’s music group started collaborating with the Auburn University Cultural Music Society. Group members are Bahareh Ramezanpour (daf), Hamid Ghaednia (santur), Vahid Mirkhani (piano), Oguz Toragay (tar), Mike Watkins (oud), Samuel Price (percussion), and Rasika Ramesh (percussion). Bahareh and Hamid are students at Auburn in mechanical engineering, Vahid is in physics, Oguz is in industrial engineering, Samuel is in international studies, Rasika is in forestry, and Mike is employed with the university in technology.

The group has invited two Iranian guests to perform. Forouzandeh Peyvandi performs on the dotar, and Fariba Tehrani sings. As music enthusiasts, Forouzandeh and Fariba have been amateur vocalists for decades.

THE INSTRUMENTS

The daf is a circular frame made of hardwood and covered with either a deerskin or a goatskin. The santur is a hammered dulcimer with 72 strings on a trapezoid framework. The tar is a long-necked waisted instrument with 6 strings. The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument with 11 or 12 strings.

The dotar is a two-stringed, long-necked lute whose performance lessons have survived by practice only. In other words, there is no written music available for the dotar. It is important in the eastern part of Iran and bears the love stories, war stories, and songs about old myths.

THE MUSIC’S HISTORY

Iranian traditional music goes back through several millennia into prehistory, when the legendary King Jamshid is credited with the “invention” of music. It can be considered as the basis of much of the Near Eastern traditional music as well. Many of the names of the notes and modes in the Arabic and Turkish music traditions are of ancient Persian origin.

With the rise of the Safavids in the 16th century, music became frowned upon, causing the transformation of ensembles into private solo performances. The music and its culture, the folkloric blues and the numerous stories were transferred from one generation to another merely through words and private sessions. This decline only began to be reversed in the 19th century after the emergence of the Qajar dynasty.

Persian music is vocally based, and the vocalist plays central role. The start of the traditional Persian song can be immensely different compared to the end of the song. It usually alternates between low, contemplative pieces and athletic displays of musicianship called Tahrir. (Ref: Persian traditional music,Wikipedia; Farhat, H. (1990) The Dastgāh Concept in Persian Music, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)

OPENING FOR PERSIAN MUSIC

Made up of Dan Mackowski (guitars), Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), and Jason DeBlanc (basses), Cullars Improvisational Rotation is a jazz trio with a southern sensibility: thoughtful, ambient, and adventurous.

The group will start at 5:00 pm to open for the Persian music group. Hear audio at soundcloud.com/cullarsfield

The name comes from Auburn University’s Cullars Rotation experiment, the oldest soil fertility study in the South. The group’s members embrace the roots of jazz, taking risks to make something new through delicately rehearsed arrangements of standards, originals, hymns and improvisations.

Made up of Dan Mackowski (guitars), Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), and Jason DeBlanc (basses), Cullars Improvisational Rotation is a jazz trio with a southern sensibility: thoughtful, ambient, and adventurous. On this evening, their guest will be Paul Vaillancourt, percussionist from Columbus, GA.

Hear audio at soundcloud.com/cullarsfield

The name comes from Auburn University’s Cullars Rotation experiment, the oldest soil fertility study in the South. The group’s members embrace the roots of jazz, taking risks to make something new through delicately rehearsed arrangements of standards, originals, hymns and improvisations.

When the Third Thursday Poetry Series comes around, music finishes up at 6:30. Stay later to hear poems read by invited published poets and a few local open mic-ers. Click here for more about the series and the September 15 guest poet.

Made up of Dan Mackowski (guitars), Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), and Jason DeBlanc (basses), CULLARS IMPROVISATIONAL ROTATION is a jazz trio with a southern sensibility: thoughtful, ambient, and adventurous.

The name comes from Auburn University’s Cullars Rotation experiment, the oldest soil fertility study in the South. The group’s members embrace the roots of jazz, taking risks to make something new through delicately rehearsed arrangements of standards, originals, hymns and improvisations.

The opening reception for Showcase: The Work of Creative Scholarship will take place from 5-7 pm. Click here for more about this open-to-the-public event, that will feature its own live music. After the reception, the cafe will remain open, with Cullars Improvisational Rotation finishing out the evening until 8:00.

Made up of Dan Mackowski (guitars), Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), and Jason DeBlanc (basses), Cullars Improvisational Rotation is a jazz trio with a southern sensibility: thoughtful, ambient, and adventurous.

The name comes from Auburn University’s Cullars Rotation experiment, the oldest soil fertility study in the South. The group’s members embrace the roots of jazz, taking risks to make something new through delicately rehearsed arrangements of standards, originals, hymns and improvisations.

Andrew Wilder was born into a musical family with 10 brothers and sisters who have all studied classical music extensively and parents who are both professional classical musicians. He has performed and studied throughout Europe, the United States and South America. Upon completing high school, he traveled to Europe to study in the Istituto Musicale Pareggiato Della Valle D’Aosta in Aosta, Italy and, in the following year, the Conservatorio Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Swizerland where he completed two artist diplomas in guitar performance under the instruction of Lorenzo Micheli. Wilder has also studied privately with Matteo Mela, Denis Azabagic and Paul Galbraith, and has performed in master classes in Europe and the United States with professors including Aniello Desiderio, Zoran Dukic, Sussana Prieto, Carlos Perez, Roland Dyens, Rene Izquerdo, Johannes Moller, Massimo Lonardi, and others.

As a soloist, Wilder has been the recipient of several awards including the first prize in the Senior Guitar competition of Society of American Musicians, first prize in the International Tennessee Guitar Competition, first prize in the Art of Strings international competition, and was a prize winner in the East Carolina University Guitar competition and the Troy University Guitar competition. Wilder was also a recipient of the Koch Cultural Trust grant. He has participated in music festivals including the Mediterranean Guitar Festival in Cervo, Italy, and The Masterworks Festival. Wilder was recently invited to give solo recitals in the Teatro de Camsicá in Samaca, Colombia, and at the Catedral de Villa de Leyva, Colombia. Currently he is pursuing a degree in guitar performance with Dr. Andrew Zohn at Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music, where he performs as a soloist and takes part in chamber projects. He is increasingly more involved in creating arrangements and transcriptions for both solo guitar, and guitar in ensemble.

Made up of Dan Mackowski (guitars), Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), and Jason DeBlanc (basses), Cullars Improvisational Rotation is a jazz trio with a southern sensibility: thoughtful, ambient, and adventurous.

Hear audio at soundcloud.com/cullarsfield.

The name comes from Auburn University’s Cullars Rotation experiment, the oldest soil fertility study in the South. The group’s members embrace the roots of jazz, taking risks to make something new through delicately rehearsed arrangements of standards, originals, hymns and improvisations.

Before The Third Thursday Poetry Series starts, enjoy jazz from 5-6:30 pm. Click here for more about the poetry series.

TAYLOR PIERCE is an Auburn native who has been playing and studying guitar since 2002. He spent summers studying music at Berklee College, and jazz at the University of North Texas. Taylor has been deeply involved in the auburn music scene since 2009, supporting bands, developing jazz projects, and as a member of the Auburn Knights Orchestra.

As a student in the 1990s, JASON DeBLANC was part of the Auburn Knights Orchestra and drum major with the AU Marching Band. Now working with the university’s computer systems by day, his bass work supports Montgomery-based group Tapestry, Auburn’s own Kidd Blue, and musicians of diverse styles across the region.

From 5-8 pm, enjoy a jazz trio made up of Patrick McCurry (woodwinds), Trey Dunnahoo (guitar), and Ben Young (bass).

Based in Auburn, Alabama, The Hot Club of Auburn was founded in the summer of 2014 by Patrick Bruce. Patrick’s vision was to create an acoustic swing group following in the style of the Gypsy swing groups of yesteryear. The Hot Club blends traditional songs of the genre with modern songs in the Gypsy swing style.

Members are Patrick Bruce and Taylor Pierce on guitars, Dan Campbell on violin, and Jason DeBlanc on bass.

The Hot Club of Auburn is on Facebook at facebook.com/thehotclubofauburn.

The AUBURN UNIVERSITY CULTURAL MUSIC SOCIETY was founded in the spring of 2014 with the mission of bringing awareness to the Auburn community about the importance of cultural diversity through music. All cultures have some form of music, but each has a different perspective on the uses of music as well as the sounds produced by its instruments. Members are guided by the idea that music has a way of bringing people together and unifying them no matter what nationality or ideology they come from. The group tries to provide music events for students and community members to express their cultural differences while promoting an understanding of the similarities that all humanity share.

Over the years, MARY SLATON has entertained with her extensive knowledge of popular music, and is known throughout the southeast as one of the region’s premier piano soloists. She is leader of the Mary Slaton Trio and coordinates the East Alabama Community Band in which she plays French horn. Among Memphis venues, Mary has performed at the Hilton and the Hyatt Regency. In Atlanta, she has played the Omni Hotel, the Hilton, the Atlanta Country Club and others. At home in the Auburn-Opelika area, the Terra Cotta, the Saugahatchee Country Club and the Marriott have featured her. Mary holds piano degrees from Memphis State University and from the University of Montevallo. She teaches privately and at Southern Union Community College.