Maryam Yusefzadeh or David Burk P.O. Box 50115 Minneapolis MN 55405 (612) 825-8982 Work Samples Audio: Janeh Maryam Bandar Sevan To hear the work samples, Windows Media Player is required. If you do not have it installed, you can download it for free here: Download Windows Media Player

Robayat Middle Eastern, Persian, Turkish, Central Asian music Robayat performs Persian music, sung in Farsi, as well as folk music of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and central Asia. The roots of Persian music extend as far back as the year 500 B.C., and Robayat plays this rich and complex traditional music in an effort to preserve the culture. As critic Jim Meyer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote, "Though Robayat is serious about this music, the players approach it with confidence and a sense of fun. The group's ease in extended improvisation... can make even a 25-minute piece consistently interesting." Available: No performance or mileage restrictions Space: Adaptable to available space; require a public address system with four microphones; can provide our own system at an additional cost Fee: Negotiable

Additional Information:
Robayat performs Persian music, as well as Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Middle Eastern, and other regional styles that have been influenced by Persian culture.

The Persian styles of music in Robayat's repertoire are quite diverse, including older traditional forms, songs from the time of the Shah, and even more recent popular styles that are well loved by Iranians living in exile. Most of Robayat's pieces are sung in Farsi, the main language of Iran. Persian music has ancient roots that may extend as far back as 500 B.C. While it shares many instruments and musical elements with Arabic styles, it is distinctive in many ways. Robayat's performances highlight the special qualities of Persian music, but they often include pieces from other regions, demonstrating variations in dialect, instrumentation, and rhythmic structure.

Maryam Yusufzadeh, a native of Iran, founded Robayat in 1989. She had originally trained at the Tehran School of Music, and in 1975, she came to the U.S. to participate in the University of Minnesota's BFA program in Art, Music and Dance Performance. For several years, she performed on her own and gave master classes. In 1987, percussionist Tim O'Keefe found a tape of her music, contacted her, and became one of her students. Two years later, joined by Tim Sparks and David Stenshoel, they began to perform as a group. They soon gained a following among the local Persian community, and they became known to a broader audience through performances at Twin Cities music venues, art organizations, festivals, and schools. At present, they perform using voice, hand drums, oud, guitar, violin, the four-stringed sehtar, jhumbush, and saz. For some performances, they bring in guest artists who play other instruments. Members of Robayat are often hired to perform with visiting Persian musicians, and they maintain contact with several who currently live in Iran. Their repertoire is always expanding.

Robayat offers educational programs as well as purely musical performances.