The meeting of the selection committee of the 38th Fajr Festival held with the attendance of the artistic deputy of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Director of music office.
In this meeting the members of the selection committee of groups and artworks such as Hasan Riyahi, secretary of 36th Fajr Music Festival, Morteza Amiri, Behdad Babaei, Mohammad Reza Cheraghali, Ehsan Zabihi Far, Amir Abbas Setayeshghar, Karen Keyhani, Mohammad Ali Merati, and Amin Honarmand attended.
Speaking during a press conference, Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini said, “During the pandemic, several festivals were canceled. However, the closure of some influential festivals would lead to more damages, so we thought we would do our best to organize the festival this year taking full advantage of the experiences of other organizers of festivals, and what they have been through so far during this pandemic.”
Iran’s Music Office director Mohammad Allahyari, also attending the press conference, said that the top selected music albums produced in 2018 and 2019 will be honored with the Barbad Award during the festival.
The Barbad Award established in 2016 at the 31st edition of the festival is dedicated to the best album of the year.
“The ensembles and the musicians will also be invited to the festival by the board of selection and they will hold performances during the festival,” he added.
Member of the festival’s committee Amir Abbas Setayeshgar also attending the conference said that due to the two-year halt in granting the Barbad Award, the section has been warmly received, and 148 albums have been submitted to the jury for the final Barbad Awards.
“In the non-competition section, over 60 ensembles have been reviewed. However, the number of performances will be decreased due to the pandemic,” he said.
Director of the festival, Hassan Riahi said that the organizers believe that the interested participating youth need to be encouraged.
“That is, when we encourage the youth and honor them at festivals we should not leave them on their own. An association of young musicians needs to be established to provide the facilities for young talented musicians and to help support them,” Riahi said.
Source: Tehran Times