Making Music, Saving Culture

Amir Vahab started teaching Persian and Turkish Sufi music in his native Iran when he was 17, a few months before he moved to London in 1976 to study. Three years later, revolution shook his homeland.

While he has lived overseas since, the 58-year-old Vahab strives to keep his cultural tradition alive in New York.

The trained micro-mechanical engineer and jewelry designer now focuses all his energy on promoting Persian culture and music. Vahab runs the Tanbour Institute

, where teaches more than 200 students. He and his ensemble play concerts almost every week. “I like tradition,” he said.