Amir Haghighi

His voice often compared by listeners to that of Persian and western masters, Amir was born and raised in Tehran, Iran where he learned the traditional Persian style of singing. Performing throughout North America and in Europe at Persian events since he moved to Canada in 1983, Amir laid the foundation for his traditional Persian performance and repertoire. He has since expanded his musical horizons by collaborating with partner harpist Amy Stephen on "Wanderer" (Sar Gashteh), a collection of songs from "Persia and beyond..." People literally fall in love with Amir's voice, even when he sings non-Persian songs, and they often try to describe how deeply his singing touches them. At every concert, some audience members are literally in tears, saying that even though they don't understand the farsi language, Amir has communicated something so emotionally powerful that it drives right to the centre of their being. Featured as a soloist and composer in the award-winning Canadian documentary "Music for a New World", Amir's musical inspiration comes mainly from the spiritual, mystical elements of the great Persian poets: Rumi, Hafiz, Saadi and others. Through his singing, Amir communicates the passion of life in all its joy, and sadness... he crosses every cultural boundary and goes straight to the heart.

Amir has appeared at the Vancouver International Folk Festival, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Vancouver International Children's Festival, the Chan Centre with the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra, the Vancouver Sacred Music Festival, Global Discoveries Festival, Interspiritual Chantfest, Persian Cultural Conferences and events in Los Angeles (USA), Chicago (USA), Geneva (Switzerland), Paris (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Toronto (Canada).