Araz Salek

Instruments:

Tar

Traditions:

, Iranian

Araz Salek began playing tar at an early age in Tehran, Iran, studying under renowned masters, Hooshang Zarif and Arshad Tahmasebi. In 2000, he began teaching at the Iran Music School in Tehran, followed by the University of Tehran and Sharif University. Since moving to Toronto in 2005, Salek has taught at several local music schools and has been a guest teacher at the University of Alberta and the Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Crete. In 2017, he co-founded Labyrinth Musical Workshop Ontario, where he serves as Artistic Director, bringing modal music education and presentations to the Toronto area.

Araz has performed at major venues around Toronto, throughout Canada, in Iran and across Europe. Since 2012, he has been part of the Toronto/Crete based quartet, 'This Tale of Ours' with Pedram Khavarzamini, Kelly Thoma and Ross Daly. He leads the Shiraz Ensemble and the Iranian Modal Music Ensemble of Toronto. He also performs with the Persian-flamenco fusion group, 'Persamenco' and constantly experiments with performances in other settings, groupings and forms. He has been featured on several recordings, including a critically well-received solo album, Birth, in 2018.