Persia II

The Māhbānoo Ensemble, founded in Iran in 2011, consists exclusively of female musicians. As women have been forbidden to sing in public in the country since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the ensemble has been prevented from making public performances. The ensemble’s founder, Majid Derakhshāni, has been banned from performing and practicing his profession as a result of the initiative and his musical activities are categorized as a crime. The musicians will travel to Musikfest Berlin from Tehran and Europe in order to finally make their public concert debut in Germany: with traditional Persian music that goes back for centuries. The group’s name combines the Persian words “bānoo” (lady) and “māh” (moon) and means “a lady as beautiful as the moon.”