Our history

The Beginning of a Musical Journey

On a hot summer day in 1994, in the city of Shiraz, the idea of forming a small music ensemble was born. Ali Pirabi suggested to his close friend Hamid Beik Mohammadi that they create a group dedicated to performing Iranian music. From friendship, passion, and a shared love for music, the story of SAMA began.

The First Melodies

Hamid gladly accepted the idea. The group’s first rehearsals began with Hamid playing the setar and Ali playing the santur. The first rehearsals of SAMA took place in Ali’s small practice room on the ground floor of the house where he had grown up together with his parents, sisters, and brothers. Their first chosen piece was “Elahe Naz,” composed by the Iranian composer Akbar Mohseni. Since they did not have access to the sheet music, Ali handwrote the notes for both santur and setar. After several rehearsal sessions, the very first sounds of SAMA slowly came to life.