Mehdi Darvishi

Mehdi was born in 1981 in Karaj, Iran and began his musical career at age 15. After playing setar for a short period of time, he turned to studying daf under the tutelage of Arash Zanganeh, and later under maestro Bijan Kamkar. It was maestro Navid Afghah who taught him Tonbak, and greatly influenced his technique.

In 2001, Mehdi started teaching Daf alongside his various collaborations with musical groups such as Khalvat Gozideh, Par Savosh, Soufi, Darvish Khan, Masnavi and others. He contributed as well to the soundtracks of multiple films and series for Iranian and Turkish broadcasting.

After relocating to Michigan in 2011, Mehdi performed with musicians including the Nava Ensemble in East Lansing, Secret Seven Ensemble in Ann Arbor and Saeed Kamjoon at the Great Lakes Folk Festival. In 2013 Mehdi moved to New York where he has maintained his teaching practice, serving students from around the world who are interested in learning Iranian percussion. He continues to collaborate with different groups, covering a range of musical styles.