In the middle of the day, Iranian-born Niyaz, had her audience tapping their feet and swaying by the end of her concert performed in front of the golden altarpiece of the Valenciana Church. Accompanied by her husband and a tabla player, she moved with small but expressive movements as she sang Kurdish, Afghan and Iranian folk songs, as well as three songs composed by her husband.
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| Niyaz and the tabla player/FIC41 photos by Christa Cowrie |
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| And her husband-composer-musician |
The concert the three presented was very much in the spirit of this year's Festival theme, The Art of Liberty. Partway through, the singer, who has lived in Los Angeles since she was fifteen, gave an impassioned talk in English to her audience about the difficult situation the world is facing.Many stayed for the charla afterward. All in all, a festival highlight for most of us who were there.
