Asha
Asha: A Persian-Middle Eastern Music Fusion Acoustic Ensemble
Asha Ensemble was founded by Dr. Pourandokht Naseri Hudson in 2020. In Asha, instruments from the East and the West (e.g. Saz, Guitar, Tonbak, Violin, Daf, Accordion, Cajon, Cello, and Double bass) join together and lend their colours to convey different atmospheres, from rhythmic joyous dances to intimate moments of stillness, while maintaining an underlying sense of light-heartedness. In addition to Persian, you may hear songs in other languages such as Kurdish, Lori, Turkish, Arabic, Yiddish, Hebrew, Indian, and English. Music is used to strengthen one’s connection to heart.
“Asha” is an ancient Avestan word with a multi-dimensional meaning including universal order and truth and is at the core of Zarathustrian philosophy.
Presented by: Dr Pouran Hudson
Dr Pourandokht Naseri Hudson studied at the Conservatorium of Music and the School of Physics - the University of Sydney (USyd). Hudson’s primary musical interest is using music to build bridges between people which led her to win the USyd’s Frank Albert Prize, to found the Music Talks Peace and the Iranian House of Music NSW. Her activities have been featured in the media (e.g. ABC and SBS). She has played the violin in many orchestras (e.g. Iran's National TV Symphonic Orchestra-جام جم and the East-West Philharmonic Orchestra-NSW). Since 2008, she has also been playing Middle Eastern folk and has performed in many local music festivals.
Pouran N Hudson: Violin, Voice
Sobhan Erfani: Daf, Cajon (Sun 30 Jan only*)
Nikou Javadi: Tonbak, Daf, Cajon, Darbouka
Reza Mirzaei: Saz, Guitar
Morgan Maruthiah: Violin, Accordion
Kate Pass: Double bass