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Siamak Barghi is an Iranian musician, composer, and educator, currently a DMA student in Music Composition at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He received his MA in Ethnomusicology in 2021 from the University of Tehran, Iran. Siamak started to learn music when he was 5, under the supervision of his father, Asad Barghi, and later benefited from Iranian Music Maestros Bahman Rajabi, Mohammadreza Lotfi, Navid Afghah, Hooman Asadi, Sasan Fatemi, and Babak Khazrai.
As an instrumentalist and improvisor (Violinist, Tonbak, and Kamanche Player), he has performed numerous concerts during 2006-2023 in Iran and abroad. He has experience performing concerts with Iranian Maestros Aliakbar Shekarchi, Shahram Mirjalali, and Ardeshir Kamkar.
He founded Saba Orchestra in 2010 in his hometown, Mashhad, cooperating with his brother, Samad Barghi. He is also familiar with other Iranian musical instruments, Setār, Tār, Daf, Oud, Ney, and Ghichak.
- Modal Music Theories in the Middle East and Central Asia
- Music Improvisation Studies
- Rhythm Theories in the Middle East, India & North Africa
- Transnational Violin Playing in the Middle East & India
- Sound Studies, Acoustics, and Tuning Theories
- Iranian Classical and Folklore Music
2016-2024 Faculty member and lecturer at Ferdows Institute of Higher Education, Mashhad, Iran. Teaching courses: Acoustics, General Tombak Playing, Computer Applications in Music, Iranian Classical Music Fundamentals, Iranian Music Ensemble and Orchestra, Form and Composition in Iranian Music. Conducting several BA theses.
Siamak has experience teaching in music institutes and universities in Iran since 2005, and founded his own music institute, Arqanon, in 2018 in Mashhad, Iran. Siamak has also conducted several research and fieldwork studies on Iranian Folklore musics including Eastern Khorāsān, Kermān, and Balouchestān, and has published several papers on them.
Teaching Interests:
- Iranian Classical Music Fundamentals
- Modal Music Theories in the Middle East
- Rhythm Theories in the Middle East, India & North Africa
2019 Ranked Second in the Iranian National University Entrance Exam for an MA in Music.
2018 Ranked First in “Mugam Music Competition,” Accompanying “Khayyam Music Ensemble”, Azerbaijan National Conservatory & Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan.
2004, 2008, 2019 BSc., MSc., and MA. Tuition Exemption Scholarship by Ministry of Science, Research & Technology, Iran.
2007 Ranked First Tonbak Player, 6th National Festival of Youth Music, Tehran, Iran.
Education
- 2019-2021 MA. in Musicology/Ethnomusicology, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran.
- 2008-2011 MSc. in Electrical Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
- 2004-2008 BSc., Electrical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.
Other
- Babak Khazrai: Studies on Iqā (Rhythm) in Historical Music Treatises.
- Mohammad Reza Lotfi: Specialization in Historic Cyclic Rhythms (Adwār Iqāi) and Meters of Iranian Classical Music, Specialization in Persian Classical Music Repertory (Radif).
- Bahman Rajabi, Navid Afghah: Professional Tonbak Playing.
- Asad Barghi (father) Music Theory, Violin & Ney Playing.
- 2024 “Setar & Tonbak Improvisation: Iranian Classical Music” Accompanying Amir Nozhan, Central Stage, Richmond, CA.
- 2024 “Kamancheh & Tonbak Improvisation: Iranian Classical and Kurdi Folklore Music,” Accompanying Ardeshir Kamkar, Mashhad, Iran.
- 2018 “Mugam Music Competition,” Accompanying “Khayyam Music Ensemble,” Azerbaijan National Conservatory & Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan.
- 2018 “Tār & Tonbak Improvisation: Iranian Classical Music,” Accompanying Shahram Mirjalali, Mashhad, Iran.
- 2017 “Kamancheh & Tonbak Improvisation: Iranian Classical and Lorestān Folklore Music,” Accompanying Aliakbar Shekarchi, Mashhad, Iran.
- 2010-2020 Saba Orchestra Concerts, 1st Violin Player, Composer, and Arranger. Mashhad, Iran.
2025 Siamak Barghi, “Innovations in Tombak Performance throughout the 2000s & 2010s: Novel Approaches and Extended Techniques,” Northern California Chapter of the American Musicology Society 2025 Annual Meeting (NorCal AMS), San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, April 2025.
2025 Siamak Barghi, “The Iranian Violin: Tradition, Innovation, and the Legacy of Abolhasan Saba”, Northern California Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (NCCSEM) 2025, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, CA, February 2025.
2019 “An Introduction to the Iranian Classical Music and Its Present Situation Among the General Public”, Postgraduate students, University of Cambridge.
2024 Barghi, Siamak. Āwāye Khiāl: Transcription of the Album, Stylistic Analysis of Navid Afghah's works. Tehran: Mashahir-e Honar.
2023 Barghi, Siamak. Tonbak Tutorial Book: 88 pieces from Elementary to Advanced.
Other publication: Siamak Barghi’s Google Scholar
- 2024 Sarv-e-Mehr. Iranian Classical Music, Mashhad: Āwaye Khonyagaran Khayyam Part.
- 2022 Kamāne. Iranian Classical Music, Duet for Violin & Tonbak. Mashhad: Āwaye Khonyagaran Khayyam Part.
- 2018 Fall to Autumn. Iranian Classical Music. Tehran: Chahārbāgh.
- 2018 Bi-Maryam. Bakhtiāri Folklore Music. Tehran: Hozeh Honari.
- 2013 Sāye-hā. Iranian Popular Music. Tehran: Golchin-e Āvāye Shargh.
- 2006 Sarve-Kharāmān. Khorāsan Folklore Music. Tehran: Soroush.
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