15 July 2003

The International Seminar on Dulcimer (Santur) which hosts players from China, India, Greece, Hungary, Check Republic, Switzerland, Russia and Iran will be held in Niavaran Cultural Complex from 1st to 4th of September 2003.

"Its characteristic and also Iran's important status concerning this instrument encouraged us to choose it as the subject of a seminar," director of the music unit of Niavaran Cultural Complex Sasan Rasouli said on the reason behind choosing dulcimer as the central subject of an international seminar.

Dulcimer is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and although its current form makes it appear as an Iranian instrument, in different places it is called by a variety of names and is played in vast regions from Far East to East Europe to North Africa.

Rasouli explained that the need to hold such a seminar was felt because it helps to study and know the cultural relations between different ethnic groups.

According to him, music plays an important role in initiating communication and especially the instruments shared by different people can lead to a better understanding of interactivities between different cultures.

The seminar will compare the diverse methods of playing dulcimer around the world and although it does not contain any direct research activities, it will pave the way for future research on the subject.

Furthermore, some training workshops will be held that enable the players of different regions and enthusiasts of any kind of music to communicate easily with their popular music players.

Rasouli described diverse goals for the seminar such as providing facilities for research activities, comparing methods of playing the instrument, making possible the dialogue among civilizations in the area of music, producing visual and sound records that would show how dulcimer is played around the world, and introducing its Iranian cultural originality, and most importantly analyzing the relations between music cultures with the help of shared instruments, and studying and introducing the history and applications of dulcimer in different cultures.