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MEMBERS
Saeid Bashash
Bahar Behzadnezhad
Saeid Bashash
Instrument: Santur
Saeid Bashash is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at San Jose State University.
He spends a good amount of his free time on learning and playing musical instruments. His music journey began at the age of 14 when he started to learn Santur and the traditional Iranian music from Mr. Babak Azarshab and Mr. Hossein Nikkhoo.
Over the years, he has carried out several solo and group performances at different schools such as Sharif University, Clemson University, and the University of Michigan.
He is currently receiving Taar lessons from Mr. Naser Sheikhzadegan and music theory and technique lessons from Mr. Faraz Minooei.
Bahar Behzadnezhad
Instrument: Santur
Bahar is an RF Electrical Engineer currently working at Apple. She moved to the U.S. from Esfahan, Iran, in 2015.
She began learning Santur and traditional Iranian music with maestro Faraz Minooei in 2020, pursuing a lifelong goal to study music. Music has always been close to her heart—she spends hours listening to Iranian classical pieces, as well as learning and playing.
In 2025, she joined the Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble, where she continues to explore and share the beauty of Iranian musical traditions through collaborative performance.
Mahsa Farhang
Instrument: Tombak
Mahsa is a school psychologist currently serving at Bayview Elementary public school. Her musical journey began at the young age of 9 when she had the privilege of studying Tombak under the maestros Majid Hesabi and Morteza Ghasemi. During this time, she actively participated in various group performances in Esfahan, Iran.
After immigrating to the United States in 2013 and a large pause in playing music her passion reignited in 2018, and she began studying Daf with Maestro Mehran Roozalizadeh for a year and a half.
Currently, she continues to hone her skills under the guidance of Maestro Ghazi Asgar (Tombak) and Maestro Hossein Rezaee Nia (Daf). Additionally, she is enriching her musical knowledge by learning Radif Taherzadeh with Maestro Mahyar Shadorvan.
For Mahsa, playing music is the ultimate comfort for her soul and it serves as a form of meditation.
Mahsa has joined Bay Area Persian music ensemble in 2024. Playing in this group brings her immense joy and a sense of honor.
Behdad Fariba
Instrument: Tar
Behdad Fariba is passionate about classical Persian music. He has been studying and practicing the Tar, a Persian string instrument well known for its double-bowl shaped body and long neck, with Maestro Fariborz Azizi for close to twenty years.
Behdad has studied repertoires of Persian music (Radif - Mirza Abdollah and the advanced Radif - Ali Kabar Khan Shahnazi) and has performed in many private and public venues.
He is grateful for the opportunity to participate in workshops with Maestro Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Maestro Hossein Alizadeh in the US, and learn directly from two of the most prominent Tar players of our era.
Behdad is a software engineer at Yahoo and continues to allocate most of his free time to studying and playing the Tar.
Farin Foroudi
Instrument: Daf
Farin is a clinical pharmacist. She started learning Daf lessons from maestro Masood Habibi back in 1993.
She has carried out several solo and performances at Vahdat Concert Hall, Arasbaran and Harekat Cultural Centers with Dalahoo ensemble and Tehran Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with Ms. Ghodsi Moshiri and Chakavak Azad ensemble, maestro Jalal Zolfonoon and Khajeh Amiri brothers at Saad Abad Palace.
After migrating to the US in 2006, she had a couple performances with Hamed Nickpay at Berkeley University. She has collaborated with Shahrzad Khorsandi and has performed with Peyvand ensemble in Southern California and San Jose.
Farin is currently working as a full time pharmacist and teaches Daf lessons in Bay Area. She has joined Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble in 2021.
Soroush Foroudi
Instrument: Bass Tar
He started to learn Setar at age of 18 under Maestro Hooshang Zarif.
At age of 29 he left the country and since then he was playing in some local persian bands. He is a mechanical engineer and currently is working as a metrology enginner.
He was so lucky to join the Bay Area Persian Ensemble since 2020 under Maestro Faraz Minooei
Nick Kheiry
Instrument: Santur
Nick is a 6th grade student with a strong passion for music. He began learning piano at age 7 and has been studying santur under Maestro Faraz Minooei since 2021.
Farhang Mobarhan
Voice
Farhang, a Computer Science and Industrial Engineer, currently working as a data center specialist, has had a lifelong passion for music.
His love for music began at a very young age, with his mother recalling that he started singing just two hours after he was born.
While he enjoys all genres of music, Farhang has a special affinity for Persian classical music.
He is skilled in singing pop, rock, folklore, new and traditional classical Persian songs, and enjoys experimenting with blending these different styles together.
After years of self-study, Farhang had the privilege of receiving singing lessons in classical Persian music from Ghazaleh Faylinejad, a highly respected vocalist trained by the maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian.
Throughout his musical journey, Farhang has performed at various private and public events on different stages.
In 2023, he joined the Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble, further enriching his musical experiences.
Radni Pireh
Instrument: Tar
Radni Pireh is an assistant professor of Network Engineering Technology at Skyline College.
He dedicates a considerable amount of his free time to learning and playing musical instruments. At the age of 26, he embarked on his musical journey, starting with the Tar and traditional Iranian music under the mentorship of Mr. Farzad Hakimrabet.
Throughout the years, he has participated in numerous group performances, playing guitar with worship bands and Tar.
In February 2024, he had the fortunate opportunity to become a member of the Bay Area Persian Ensemble, led by Maestro Faraz Minooei.
Pariya Pourmohammadi
Instrument: Setar
Pariya is a setar player deeply connected to sound, structure, and inner experience. She began learning at 18 with Mehrdad Torabi, focusing on tone, right-hand technique, and fundamentals. Later, with Fariborz Azizi and Amir Nojan, she deepened her grasp of melodic development, rhythm, and the expressive flow between Goushehs.
Returning to the setar during the pandemic, Pariya’s practice centers on repetition and listening. She views radif as a living tradition that unfolds gradually through disciplined study and personal connection. Most days, she plays quietly in her space, refining details and listening deeply.
Though not a visual artist, Pariya enjoys sketching and acrylic painting as a way to express her being and explore her inner depths.
She joined the ensemble in 2025 to blend personal reflection with collective creativity, using attentive listening to create space where individual expression and group harmony meet.
Behfar Razavi
Instrument: Ney
Behfar Razavi started his musical journey 15 years ago with the Ney (Persian reed flute), and has since added Daf (frame drum), Avaz (classical vocal style of Iran), Setar (Persian lute) and the Flute Recorder to his itinerary. Along the way he's had the privilege to share his passion for music on stage and in the recording studio, alongside his many talented musician teachers and friends.
In his spare time, Behfar is CEO of Slooce Technology.
Behrouz Rostami
Voice
Behrouz is a vocalist in Iranian traditional music. He began his journey in singing at the age of 18, studying classical Persian vocal techniques and the radif under the guidance of different masters, including Mozaffar Shafiei and the late Mohammad Reza Lotfi.
Over the years, Behrouz has performed with various groups in Tehran and at academic and cultural institutions such as Hakim Sabzevari University, Lorestan University, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University.
Professionally, Behrouz is a data scientist. He joined the Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble in March 2025 and continues his musical journey with the group as a dedicated singer.
Banafsheh Sadeghi
Voice
Banafsheh is a finance professional at a local semiconductor company and relocated to the bay area in 2023 subsequently joining the Bay Area Persian Ensemble in 2024.
Her musical journey began at 4 and she enjoys singing in various genres and languages. She completed traditional Iranian avaz training (radif) with Mojgan Shajarian and is currently studying avaz improvision (morakkab-khani) with Fariba Dawoodi.
She has participated in numerous solo and group performances since age 17 including at University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University.
Hamed Yousefi
Voice
Hamed Yousefi is a Tech Lead and Software Engineer at Aryaka Networks. After receiving his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Sharif University of Technology in 2016, he moved to the US for a PostDoc at the University of Michigan. This is when he decided to start the journey of music more seriously.
Hamed is a Persian music lover. His main interest lies in singing/Avaz (classical vocal style of Iran).
Over the years, he has seen multiple Avaz teachers: Morteza Kashani, Amir Asnaashari, Mojtaba Asgari and Vahid Taj.
In parallel, he has also received some Setar lessons from Amir Nojan and started to learn Kamancheh from Bahman Faryadras.
He has carried out several solo and group performances since moving to Bay Area in 2019 and joined Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble in 2022.
Neema Zadeh
Instrument: Alto Kamancheh & Kamancheh
He is a TPM at Google.
He spends a good amount of his free time on learning and playing musical instruments. His music journey began at the age of 10 when he started to learn keyboard from Babak Roshanzamir.
Over the years, he has carried out group performances at different schools such as Iran S&T University, Virginia Tech and Stanford university.
He started playing kamanche (persian spike fiddle) in 2005 with Alireza Mahdizade and continued receiving lessons from Samer Habibi, Korush Babaie, Arash Kamvar, Amir Eslami & Ardeshir Kamkar.
Mahsa Farhang
Behdad Fariba
Farin Foroudi
Soroush Foroudi
Farhang Mobarhan
Neema Zadeh
Behfar Razavi
Radni Pireh
Banafsheh Sadeghi
Behrouz Rostami
Hamed Yousofi
Nick Kheiry
Pariya Pourmohammadi
Past Members
Hooman Mirloo - Daf
Setareh Rad - Santur
Noushin Isadvastar - Voice
Reza Pirooz - Tar
Sina Mohsenian - Ney
Babak Yadegari - Kamancheh
Erfan Javid - Tar
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