Persian Roots Trio

Bring your blanket and lawnchairs for a magical evening of music in the garden of Redeemer Lutheran Church. This pay-what-you-can show supports the Bloor by the Park Community Pantry.
At the crossroads of modal music from Iran and beyond, Persian Roots Trio is an instrumental ensemble featuring the unconventional combination of tar, violin, and daf. Led by a masterful trio of musicians Shahin Fayaz (tar), Bijan Sepanji (violin), and Zohreh Shahbazi (daf), this dynamic ensemble made its debut recording at the beginning of the pandemic in Toronto, performing custom arrangements of a number of well-loved regional tunes from Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Khorasan. Since then, they have performed at numerous festivals and venues such as Stratford Music Festival, TD Union Summer, Harbourfront’s Summer Music in the Garden, and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
Both Shahin and Zohreh are well-versed in the classical modal music of Iran known as dastgah, and Bijan has a wealth of experience in the world of western and Iranian classical music. Together, they create music that is grounded in rich musical tradition, interweaving traditional and modern elements, and captivating their audiences with the unique blend of their sounds.
Individual Performer Bios
Zohreh Shahbazy is an award-winning and published percussionist, vocalist, harmonist, composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and, educator based in Iran and Toronto. Zohreh has performed orchestral works for thousands of audiences including at Meridian Art center, Richmond Hill Center for the Art, Small World Music Center, Aga Khan museum, Rumi Canada, and many festivals and events all over Canada and Iran. Her upcoming album named “Lasting Love” is award-winning by the Canada Council of Art. Her music is known as “Sufi Music” based on Daf which is a traditional percussion instrument and Kamanche – a bowed string instrument.
Zohreh started to learn the Daf alongside masters Siamak Azizzade, Bijan Kamkar, and Masoud Habibi. Zohreh started learning Kamanche With Morteza Fathi in 2008 and in the course of 2 years attended classes by master Ardeshir Kamkar, and finished Radifs with Hamidreza Khalatbari. She created a Dafbanoo Band in Canada and performed many times beside her collaboration with other artists all over Toronto.
Shahin Fayaz is a tar and setar player, music educator, and co-director of Sarv Music Academy. He started his music studies with Behrooz Hemmati and Reza Vahdani at Tehran Conservatory of Music and the Tehran Music University. He continued his studies with masters of Iranian music including Hossein Alizadeh, Mas’oud Sha’ari, and Abdolnaqi Afsharnia. He has recorded and performed with many groups such as Sarv, Aftab, Bahar, and Shiraz ensembles in North America. Shahin is also a passionate educator and teaches tar and setar, directing the Sarv Setar Ensemble in North York, Toronto. His musical style reflects his constant interaction with other innovative teachers and artists in Iran and abroad such as Hossein Alizadeh and Fariborz Azizi.
Bijan Sepanji is a Canadian-Iranian violinist and educator who is based in Toronto, Canada. Bijan has toured across Canada, as well as in China, Turkey, Iran, Italy and the USA, performing concerts and offering masterclasses with his string quartet, The Ton Beau, at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, University of Toronto, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee as well as in Chicago, Illinois.
Since 2023, Bijan has collaborated with the Canadian Golha Orchestra, a group that performs in the highly ornamental style of Iranian classical orchestral music. Together with the master vocalist Sepideh Raissadat, they have performed a number of sold-out shows in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, and are continuing to program innovative concerts for future seasons.
Bijan studied violin at Indiana and McGill universities under the tutelage of Ellen Jewett, Mark Fewer, and Mark Kaplan, as well as at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto with Mayumi Seiler and Erica Raum. Bijan is also the conductor of the Mooredale Youth Orchestra, conducting and coaching the young string players and preparing them for three diversely-programmed concerts each year.
Bijan’s instrument was made in 2009 by the celebrated Canadian luthier, Mark Schnurr.