Regard Persan

Regard Persan

Saeed Kamjoo, kamanche,

Pooria Pournazeri, tanbour 

Ziya Tabassian, percussion 

Founded in 2013 by three Irano-Canadian musicians living in Montreal, Regard Persan trio has an innovative concept where each member explores a new sound of Persian music through their respective instruments.

Between tradition and modernity, the music of Regard Persan trio innovates to create contemporary music that lifts the audience outside of time, to travel with the music. Regard Persan was born after a magical concert in 2013 at “Garage Concerts” series in Montreal. Since then, they have played several concerts in Canada, Mexico, Europe and China. 

Pandit Yogesh Samsi

Yogesh Samsi is recognized in the world today as a leading tabla artiste, exhibiting consummate artistry both as a soloist and accompanist. The son of the renowned vocalist Late Pandit Dinkar Kaikini, Yogesh was initiated into tabla by his father at the tender age of four, and later received guidance under Pandit H.Taranath Rao. However it was under the gifted tutelage of the legendary Ustad Allah Rakha that Yogesh received intense training for twenty three years, maturing into one of the most sought after tabla artistes in India today. His style is marked by an unmatched combination of power, sensitivity, knowledge of tradition, tonal clarity, and aesthetics.

Yogesh has played with many of the top ranking classical instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers of India, including Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Dinkar Kaikini, and Pt Birju Maharaj. He has also had the privilege of accompanying Ustad Allah Rakha and his son the great maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain in their solo performances, and has performed duets with Ustad Zakir Hussain. Apart from accompaniment, Yogesh has performed numerous memorable solo performances in India and abroad. He has been featured in many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including: Carnegie Hall, New York; Kennedy Center, Washington DC; Theatre de la Ville, Paris; Opera House, Sydney; Barbican Centre, London; Bolshoi Theatre, Moskow; Esplanade Theatre, Singapore, to name a few.

Outside of the authentic tradition that he carries forward, Yogesh also embraces collaboration with artists for sounds that fuse music from various world music traditions. In this spirit, he has performed with artists including Taufiq Qureshi, Ranjit Barot, Louis Banks, Shujaat Khan, Karsh Kale, Kayhan Kalhor, and many more.

Besides performing, Yogesh is very committed to educating students and listeners about his art and the rich legacy of his style of tabla playing, the Punjab Gharana. In more recent times, to further the exploration and study of the Punjab Gharana, Yogesh has continued efforts to revive old compositions of the Punjab tradition as well as the compositions of Pandit Sushil Kumar Jain.

As a pedagogue, he has been very actively conducting workshops and lecture-demonstrations in music institutions in India, USA, UK, South Africa and Japan. He is also a highly respected teacher, having a large body of students worldwide. Understanding the need for a traditional art to move with the times, he has created a syllabus for learning tabla designed specifically for teachers in the West.

Yogesh is a member of the advisory board for the music department at Pune University, the Saaz School of Music London, and is a chief advisor for educational activities and promotion of Indian Classical music for the reputed music organisation, Darbar, in London.
Yogesh has currently been appointed as a Guru along with other Gurus like Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt Suresh Talwalkar, Smt N.Rajam and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia at the Indian Classical Music Gurukul run by the M.I.T group of Institutes In Pune(Loni) which aims at developing professional musicians in the future.

Yogesh has been awarded the central Sangeet Natak Acedemy award for his contribution to the art of Tabla. 


Aditya Verma

Aditya Verma is an Indian Classical musician and a renowned artist on Canada's world music stage. A charismatic sarod player based in Montreal, he has won the appreciation of audiences since 30 years through concerts across North America, Europe and India. His electrifying performances reveal his virtuosity, passionate energy and intensely emotional approach. Aditya's creative collaborations with artists from diverse global traditions have been received with acclaim and enthusiasm, including with the Washington Symphony Orchestra on Capital Hill for over 500,000 people.

Aditya is a disciple of the legendary Late Ravi Shankar, sarod master Aashish Khan and the eminent Late Ali Akbar Khan. Growing up in Montreal in a family deeply involved in Indian culture, he started playing the tabla at an early age under the guidance of his father, Narendra Verma, and tabla wizard Zakir Hussain.

In addition to playing concerts, he has composed music for film and produced numerous CD's. Aditya teaches students Indian music and conducts lecture-demonstrations. He was recently Artist-In-Residence at a prestigious American liberal arts college and featured in the CBC-ARTV french documentary film series, 'La Symphonie du Nouveau Monde'. He is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards from arts organizations.