Iranian Kamancheh | Brooklyn, New York
Mehrnam Rastegari is a well-established Iranian musician and film score composer, singer, violinist, and master Kamancheh player. She has been featured in concerts and music festivals worldwide, including in The US, Germany, Switzerland, France, Finland, Iran, and Kazakhstan. These performances have occurred at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the World, including the GlobalFest in NYC, USA, Secret Planet in NYC, USA, Fajr International Music Festival in Tehran, Iran, and the WOMEX (World Music Expo), in Tampere, Finland.
Rastegari is an extraordinary performer on Kamancheh and has been recognized by some of the best Kamancheh performers and instructors globally, who certified her as a Master Kamancheh player. She was featured as a guest speaker in the TEDx event “Oasis: Existence in Nothingness.” Additionally, she composed the score for multiple award-winning films, including “Dispirited” for which she won the award of “Best Original Score” from the Melbourne City Independent Film Awards (MCIFA), and the film “Rotten,” which was nominated for the original score in Japan’s Kadoma Festival.
She was born in 1991 in Iran. Her first stint with music was at the age of 11 when she was trying to play different rhythms on a traditional Iranian percussion called Tombak. Her family encouraged her to learn Tombak professionally. In the music institute, she discovered a magical sound flowing from the Violin class. well! She was mesmerized by it, so she decided to learn Violin, she also played Kamanche, a kind of Iranian fiddle, for several years. She practiced very hard and enjoyed every moment of playing it. In her teens, during some musical events and performances, she got in touch with other Iranian musical instruments and music maestros. The similarities between the Iranian Violin and Kamancheh made her choose Kamancheh as her main musical instrument. She learned from the best Kamancheh masters such as Imamyar Hasanov, and Ardeshir Kamkar to name a few. After learning for six months she had her first official concert as a Kamancheh player with an ensemble. The success of the concert made her very popular and gave her many opportunities to perform in different ensembles. After almost a year she felt like composing her music. She experimented and improvised in various styles. Eventually, she found herself in fusion and world music.
Her art reflects her interest in the juxtaposition of cultures. She believes that in current times the most valuable arts are those which most people with different languages can feel connected.