The santur is an ancient stringed instrument, a dulcimer, with 72 strings that can be dated to 500 BC. Assyrian and Babylonian stone carvings show the instrument back in 669 BC.
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The santur is an ancient stringed instrument, a dulcimer, with 72 strings that can be dated to 500 BC. Assyrian and Babylonian stone carvings show the instrument back in 669 BC. The instrument spread widely in the Middle East and later further afield where it morphed into the hammered dulcimer, the qanun, cimbalom, Indian santoor and even the Thai classical instrument, the kim.
Santur master Amir Amiri was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved as a refugee to Canada in 1996. Since then he has pushed the musical boundaries of his instruments, through different ensembles and collaborations.
His work with Ensemble Kimya combined early Western Classical music with music from the Middle East and India, and his duo with viola player Richard Moody, Perseides, brought together Western and Eastern traditions. With his Amir Amiri Ensemble he performed at the world music trade show…