Ensembles History: Music of Persia Ensemble

The Music of Persia Performance Group was formed during the 1959-60 academic year, under the direction of Hormoz Farhat.  In May 1960, they performed in the “Festival of Oriental Music and the Related Arts,” presented by the UCLA Music Department, with the Iranian Association of Southern California and the Iranian Folkdance Ensemble. The group remained an extra-curricular “study group” until the 1964-65 academic year, when the course Music 45K/145K (Music of Persia) was offered for the first time. Hormoz Farhat, the instructor of the course, was a lecturer in the Music Department from 1964 to 1967. Manoochehr Sadeghi directed the ensemble from 1966 to 1972 and from 1989 to 1994.

Hormoz Farhat playing the Persian setar Photo: Courtesy Ethnomusicology Archive	Persia Ensemble Photo: Courtesy Ethnomusicology Archive
Manoocher Sadeghi Photo: Courtesy Ethnomusicology Archive	Persia Ensemble Photo: Courtesy Ethnomusicology Archive