Ashoor Z.Moradian

The gathering drew an exceptional turnout: more than 150 people from across the country took part, including many bass guitarists who attended at the association’s invitation.

The seventh gathering opened with a welcome from Ashoor Moradian and then, as usual, the floor went to master Keyvan Shokouh – one of Iran’s pioneering drummers – who made several points, including:

-  I am glad to see so many musicians in one place; this solidarity will help Iranian music move forward.

-  This association benefits every musician, and it will keep going with the help of each and every participant.

-  These gatherings do a great deal to help musicians support one another; beyond playing and jamming together, getting to know the members and sharing knowledge is very important and valuable.

The gathering also hosted two veteran Iranian drummers: Mr. Varouj and Mr. Behrouz Partovi attended an association gathering for the first time and praised how well organized the event was.

Next, Ashoor Moradian presented a summary of twenty months of activity of the  Iranian Drummers Association  to the audience, as follows:

-         Seven gatherings held with masters and drummers from across the country;

-         Workshops and specialist master classes with international instructors,

not only for drummers but also for our colleagues in percussion – electric guitar and bass guitar, led by:

Claus Hessler, Hakim Ludin, Stephan Maass,Wim de Vries, Peter

Woelpl & Stefan Hergenroede

-         A drum camp with international drummer Shayan Fathi;

-         Teasers showcasing the association’s educational activities;

-         Two play-along festivals, with prizes for the top four;

-         The launch of the association’s own independent website, whose activity was summarized as follows:

163 posts published, including original educational articles, original video lessons, educational and play-along audio files, and exclusive interviews with leading international drummers, including: 

Derreck Rody, James Pastones,Marco Minnemann,  Mike Johnston  

and all the masters who have visited Tehran at the association’s invitation; a database of Iranian drummers made available, introducing Iranian talent to the industry; concert listings highlighting drummers across the country; and news of the association’s events with related reports, including photo reports.

The second part of the program focused on the third play-along festival of the Iranian Drummers Association and began with a talk by master Arash Moghaddam. The play-along festivals aim to raise the standard of playing,  discover new talent and give young, gifted players a platform to show their art and abilities.

The association’s third play-along, to be held next year, will feature drums and bass together, so that these two key instruments in any band learn to lock in from the ground up. By holding this gathering and announcing the plan early, the association had also invited fellow players from the Bass Guitarists Association, so that players of the two instruments could get to know each other and have enough time to find a bass partner, choose a piece and rehearse.

Thanks to Ms. Garan-Nazar for the photos