Mahmoud Zoufonoun - Life and Career

Life and Career

Zoufonoun's interest in music began after he secretly listened to his father (Habib Zoufonoun) playing and teaching the tar. Habib began teaching his son the instrument at age 8. Aged twelve, already having become a local teacher for tar, Zoufonoun became interested in the violin. Since he was unable to obtain an instrument of his own he designed and made his own instrument.

In the 1930s Zoufonoun moved to Shiraz where he learned musical notes from a clarinet teacher and took lessons in the violin. In 1936 (aged 16) Zoufonoun, at the prompting of his first violin teacher Mr. Vaziritabar, moved to Tehran where he took lessons from Rouben Gregorian. In the early 1940s Zoufonoun began playing solo's on Radio Iran. In 1942 he helped form Anjomane Mooseeghee Melli where he met Rouhollah Khaleghi (who conducted the orchestra).

Zoufonoun worked as a soloist, composer, arranger and conductor at the National Radio and Television. He was a member of the “Golha orchestra”. Over the course of his career he has made efforts to compile, transcribe a compilation of regional folk songs, modes, and styles to date. The work is currently uncompleted.

Following his retirement in 1976 from the National Radio and Television, Mahmoud and his family emigrated to the USA. He has continued to teach and compose and perform traditional Persian music, usually with his sons as the Zoufonoun Ensemble.

• The Zoufonoun Ensemble, consisting of Mahmoud Zoufonoun and his sons (from left to right) Ramin, Omid, Amin and Amir. Photography by Andy Nozaka

• Rare photo of Golha orchestra members including Zoufonoun (back row, center)

• Photograph of Habib Zoufonoun (Mahmoud's father) making his own tar