SHAHYAR DANESHGAR

Founder and Director

Percussion, Vocalist

A native of Tehran, Iran, Shahyar grew up in a music-loving Azerbaijani family. The son of a poet and a gifted mother artist, he received his training in the art of singing and drumming in family circles at an early age. His musical training includes the Tehran Conservatory of Music. He has participated in various festivals and concerts in Europe and North American and Asian cities since 1975. Shahyar holds a doctoral degree in Central Eurasian Studies & Folklore and Ethnomusicology with an emphasis on the cultures and languages of Central Eurasia and the Middle East. He served as a faculty in the Department of the Central Eurasian Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University. Shahyar is one of the co-founders of Bloomington’s internationally known Lotus World Music and Dance Festival annual production organized by the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, established in Bloomington, Indiana in 1995. He was also a co-founding member of the Sabá, Breeze of the East Ensemble (1986-1991). Shahyar has been active in promoting the study of languages, cultures and music of Central Eurasia and the Middle East since 1985 and is the founder and director of the Bloomington-based Silk Road Ensemble. Among his many recent
concerts, he organized and directed a concert at Beijing University (November 2024).