Simurgh Music

Founded in 2022 in Christchurch, New Zealand, Simurgh Music is a community of musicians with the aim of inspiring the passion for traditional music instruments to people of all ages and backgrounds. Simurgh specializes primarily in instruments from Persia, as well as surrounding regions of The Middle-East, Central Asia and North India.

The Simurgh community includes a wide range of both experienced musicians and students of different cultures. Iranian multi-instrumentalist Esmail Fathi teaches Daf & Tonbak and leads the Persian traditional instrument group. Multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Liam Oliver teaches and performs on a wide range of string instruments including Setar, Tar, Saz, Rabab, Sitar and Dombra.

Simurgh’s music team also includes Moroccan nasheed singer Abdelilah Rharrabti, a treasured voice which is often heard leading the adhan (call to prayer) at many Islamic events across Christchurch. Abdelilah leads Simurgh’s Arabic music performances. Another exceptional voice is Waris Rajput, a seasoned Qawwali singer from India with experience singing this Sufi devotional music at hundreds of shrines, temples and gurudwaras across India. Waris leads Simurgh’s Qawwali-fusion performances. 

An invaluable component of Simurgh’s sound is the collaboration with father-and-son music duo Nelson Myers-Daly (bansuri, percussion) and Pragunya Myers-Daly (oud). Accomplished musicians in their own right with their work as Monk Party. Having on-board all of these musicians’ expertise and talent is what allows Simurgh to offer a wide range of performances to high quality.

Simurgh Music is committed to sharing the joy of music, whether it's through learning, performing, or simply appreciating the rich cultural sounds they bring to Christchurch and beyond. We welcome any talented musicians to reach out to us and help enrich our musical community.