.jpg "Iranian Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar (3rd from right) receives a present from Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani during a ceremony held to honor the donali virtuoso for his lifetime achievements in Tehran on August 9, 2014. Several unidentified persons are also seen in the photo. (ISNA/Amir Purmand)")
TEHRAN -- Iranian Baluchi musician Shir Mohammad Espandar was honored for his lifetime achievements during a ceremony on Saturday evening.
Some officials and a large number of cultural figures attended the ceremony, which was organized by the Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Guidance.
Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani delivered a speech recalling a memory of his first meeting with the donali (twin reed flute) virtuoso in the early 1990s, when Moradkhani served as the director of the Music Office of the Culture Ministry.
“At that time, I accompanied him during his concert in France. His interaction with the audience was truly amazing,” he said.
He also pointed to another concert by Espandar in Peru, during which he had thrilled the audience with his strong performance. He stated, “We really need persons like Shir Mohammad Espandar.”
Iraj Afshar Sistani, an expert on the history of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan, also gave a speech at the ceremony.
Espandar was born in Bampur in 1927, he said and added, “When he was only a teenager, he left Iran to find work in Pakistan and returned home in 1958 after he had received education on Baluchi music in the country.”
“Music entered the lives of the people in Sistan when they had begun farming and they attach great importance to it in their daily life,” Afshar Sistani stated.
The ceremony went on with a performance by Espandar after which some gifts were presented to him.
MMS/YAW
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