Kamran Hooshmand: Oud, Guitar, Vocals

Growing up in Tehran, Iran, Kamran Hooshmand was exposed early on to the music brought back by his father from the United States in the early sixties. Initially, his instrument of choice was his lips, which he used to play soundtracks to movies and television shows while his classmates had to guess the title. Finally his parents were convinced he needed an instrument to express himself and bought him his first electronic keyboard while he was a teenager. A guitar soon followed.

Today Kamran holds a masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies with a concentration in ethnomusicology from the University of Texas at Austin. His recordings include music for the award-winning interactive CD-ROM, Nile: Passage To Egypt, produced by Human Code. He contributed to the score for the documentary film, The Road to Peace, produced by Dr. Elizabeth Fernea, professor of literature at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also worked with maestros Ostad Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Dr. Mojtaba Khoshzamir. In addition, he has composed music for dance and theatre including Oscar Wilde's play, Salome, and performs with Texas Early Music Project's Medieval Ensemble.

In 2001 Kamran co-founded the Persian-Spanish group Ojala along with Javier Palacios. Their new CD entitled "Ojala" is currently available.