Omid Kamkar Lotfi
Encyclopedia
Omid Kamkar is a setar
, and daf
player. He is classical Persian ensemble musicians and he also tours the world with The Kamkars, an Iranian Kurdish group composed of Omid, his six uncles, and his mother. He has also toured with his musician father, Mohammad Reza Lotfi.
In the last 9 years, Omid has increasingly become recognized as a solo performer and the greatest living heir to Iran’s illustrious Setar tradition. Omid’s unprecedented ambidextrous technique and experiments in tuning, combined with his sheer musicality, have allowed him to reinvent the Setar repertoire. His performing is technically flawless, powerful, and strongly emotional.
Omid was born in the city of Tehran
, Iran
, he studied music at the early age of five under the supervision of his family The kamkars. His focus at first was on the contemporary Iranian music, but later at the age of 20 he studied the traditional repertoire, the Radif
.
He has also studied with the great master Hossein Alizadeh
for few months. Omid was deeply inspired by his uncle Ardavan Kamkar
and his father Mohammad Reza Lotfi. Omid started his performing career in 1993 at Vahdat Auditorium of Iran. He has performed regularly in Iran and throughout the world. His performances have brought him universal acclaim and an eminent position among his compatriots.
Besides his musical career, Omid has had a life-long passion for vipassana meditation
. Since 1997, he has practiced vipassana meditation under the instructions of S. N. Goenka
.
As a member of The Kamkars, Omid has given numerous concerts in Iran and abroad. His Website : http://omidkamkar.blogspot.com
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
, and daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
player. He is classical Persian ensemble musicians and he also tours the world with The Kamkars, an Iranian Kurdish group composed of Omid, his six uncles, and his mother. He has also toured with his musician father, Mohammad Reza Lotfi.
In the last 9 years, Omid has increasingly become recognized as a solo performer and the greatest living heir to Iran’s illustrious Setar tradition. Omid’s unprecedented ambidextrous technique and experiments in tuning, combined with his sheer musicality, have allowed him to reinvent the Setar repertoire. His performing is technically flawless, powerful, and strongly emotional.
Omid was born in the city of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, he studied music at the early age of five under the supervision of his family The kamkars. His focus at first was on the contemporary Iranian music, but later at the age of 20 he studied the traditional repertoire, the Radif
Radif
Radif is a rule in Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry which states that, in the form of poetry known as a Ghazal, the second line of all the couplets must end with the same word/s. This repeating of common words is the "Radif" of the Ghazal...
.
He has also studied with the great master Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh , is an Iranian composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar and setar instrumentalist and improviser, described by Allmusic as a leading Iranian classical composer and musician....
for few months. Omid was deeply inspired by his uncle Ardavan Kamkar
Ardavan Kamkar
Ardavan Kamkar is a Iranian-Kurdish musician from Iran. He is a part of the Kamkaran ensemble.-Biography:Ardavan Kamkar was born in 1968 in Sanandaj, Iran. He began learning to play the Santur from his father, Master Hassan Kamkar at age 4...
and his father Mohammad Reza Lotfi. Omid started his performing career in 1993 at Vahdat Auditorium of Iran. He has performed regularly in Iran and throughout the world. His performances have brought him universal acclaim and an eminent position among his compatriots.
Besides his musical career, Omid has had a life-long passion for vipassana meditation
Vipassana movement
The Vipassana movement refers to a number of branches of modern Theravāda Buddhism, for example in the various traditions of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos and Thailand including contemporary American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield...
. Since 1997, he has practiced vipassana meditation under the instructions of S. N. Goenka
S. N. Goenka
Satya Narayan Goenka is a leading lay teacher of Vipassanā meditation and a student of U Ba Khin. He has trained more than 800 assistant teachers and each year more than 100,000 people attend Goenka sponsored Vipassana courses....
.
As a member of The Kamkars, Omid has given numerous concerts in Iran and abroad. His Website : http://omidkamkar.blogspot.com