Biography

Zohreh Jooya is an Iranian singer who wants to show the world the beauty inherent in the traditions and culture of Persia, Iran's forebear. To her, the Persian empire and its later incarnation of Iran are more than just the birthplace of Persian rugs and other goods. Through her music and live performances, she tries to forge an understanding between different cultures of the world. And while she asks her European audiences to straddle two disparate worlds, she has been doing the same thing since 1980, when she settled in Vienna and became a voice student and studied classical music. She also went on to study Persian classical music, and she performs her concerts in four different languages: Turkish, Kurdish, Gilaki, and Persian. Jooya grew up in the Iranian city of Mashad. She relocated to Europe following her high school graduation. Her first stop was Amsterdam, followed by Maastricht in the Netherlands, and later Vienna. At Vienna's Konservatorium, she studied opera and pursued a master's degree. She continues to sing opera, including Cosi fan Tuti and Madame Butterfly. She has sung on both radio programs and television shows, performing works by Schubert, Beethoven, and Mozart. She has not limited herself to opera and European classical music. Her repertoire also stretches to include Gershwin as well as the classical music of her native land. Her concerts often feature a slide presentation of native Iranian people, as well as traditional dances. In addition, her music features such traditional instruments as the du, a type of lute; the kamancheh, a type of violin; the ney, which is a flute; and the daf. ~ Linda Seida, Rovi