Cultural Entrepreneurship
It is often said that good poetry objectifies feeling. Through the act of naming and the use of language, man projects his soul, and hence his consciousness upon all which surrounds him in an ultimate effort to bring them under his ownership and dominion. Poetry and speech (music) give mankind a means of expression, a spiritual compass, and a central direction from which to embark on the eternal quest for discovery and consciousness, without which he or she is not able to survive the toils of life.
You can find my projects as collaborations and solo works in below:
Jansouz Collective
Sepand’s musical collective as “Jansouz“ was named after the artistic name of his grandfather; a renowned maestro in the field of singing and the cultural history of Iranian music. Since 2012, the Jansouz Collective has been performing music compositions and improvisations of the Iranian Cultural Civilization, in collaboration with international musicians in Iran and Europe. As a troubadour, he strives to combine the musical self-discipline of the ancient musicians with a novel understanding of modern time.
Aryasp
Aryasp is an organization specialized in conducting interdisciplinary research and activities on “Iranian Cultural Civilization.” As a Think-Tank, Aryasp aims on providing advice to a diverse and inclusive group of societies, and not only to Iranian people. This center strives to recognize the concept of the nation under the frame of culture and aside from the ruling power in the new era. It is this very desire that since 2015, has been the driving force behind his pursuit of an academic research assignment through Aryasp, a cultural foundation which Sepand founded and has been dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the arts. As a director, he has sought to create an interdisciplinary approach that has enabled the organization to host several delegations to engage in cross-cultural dialogue and musical performances.
Shams Ensemble
The Shams Ensemble was founded in Iran in 1980, by Kaykhosro Pournazeri, a renowned artist and leader who retrieved the spiritual instrument Tanbour from the heart of the Sufi monasteries and introduced it to the world stage. Sepand became a member of Shams ensemble in 2011 while performing alongside great artists as Sohrab Pournazeri, Tahmoures Pournazeri, Homayoun Shajarian, and Alireza Ghorbani.
Spring Celebration: Nowrooz – which means ‘new daylight’ in Persian – marks the New Year and the beginning of Spring across Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. The joyful awakening of nature after the Winter months is widely celebrated by paying respect to family, friends, and neighbors, visiting one another, and spending time outdoors. Nowrooz is a festival of joy, revival, creation, love, and togetherness.
We wish to make this Nowrooz edition the starting point of a new dialogue between cultures.
Academy: Dialogue in the Persian Garden
“Dialogue in the Persian Garden” is a virtual chamber to introduce, educate and spread Ērānšahr school of thought.
Aryasp Center aims to host talks about the great cultural Iran with topics on history, culture, and art in the context of modern consciousness and attempts to do so in connection with other institutions, experts, thinkers and academics in the field of culture and art.
Tirgan Festival
Tirgan is a mid-summer ancient Iranian festival (the summer solstice), celebrated annually. It is celebrated by splashing water, playing music, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children.
The feast of Tirgan, therefore, becomes, notably through the mentions of Ferdowsi in the Book of Kings (Shahnameh), one of the main Iranian festivities to celebrate the summer season alongside Nowruz (spring), Mehregan (autumn), and Shabé Yalda (winter).
Voyages: Le Periple Perse
It is within this very backdrop that I have come to define and structure my intellectual and artistic musical path. Seeking to immerse me in the complexities of my identity has led me to become both a musician and traveler, discovering the peaks and troughs that have come to define the meaning of “Seyr” in music that is almost as diverse as its geological terrain. Through travel, I have sought to continue down the very path of my musical forefathers who served as both the messengers of music while traveling to perform from city to city, but also as the messengers of love, peace, and freedom.
Do you want to join me in order to discover your inner self?
Yalda Festival
This is an invitation for a spiritual journey to explore the will to freedom during the absence of light. To achieve this desire, we have the unique musical self-discipline of the ancient musicians with a novel understanding of modern time. We are going to introduce “Yalda” on the longest night of the year, as a birth celebration of the light (fire). This celebration is a privilege opportunity to hear the storytelling of a Sufi from a heroic epic to a mystical epic.
Poet’s Garden
Poet’s Garden is a home venue hosted by the Jansouz Collective in Rotterdam where musicians gather to play, eat, drink, collaborate and produce diverse projects.