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The Roya Ensemble
A Seamless blend of Persian, Flamenco, Latin, and Jazz..
Electronic Press Kit on Sonicbids
From Left: Ricardo Marlow, Roya Bahrami, Denis Malloy, Steve Bloom (Photo by: Hasan Sarbakhshian) (Not Shown: Jon Seligman)
Roya Bahrami: Founder, Producer, Composer, Lyricist, Lecturer, Santur, Vocals
Roya Bahrami: Producer/Music Director, Composer, Arranger, Lyricist, Lecturer, Santur, Vocals
"Our mission is to offer a message of unity through music," says Roya whose passion is to develop creative works of fusion in order to help build bridges between seemingly distanced cultures. A native of Iran who migrated to the U.S. as a teenager, Roya has studied Persian classical music with such masters as M.R. Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, and Dariush Talai. She has also studied Western classical music, and Flamenco resulting in a natural blend of these traditions in her compositions. Roya released her third album ‘I Am I Am Not’ in November 2010, featuring The Roya Ensemble with all her original compositions and arrangements. She founded The Roya Ensemble in 2007 following the release of her self-titled album ‘Roya’.
She has developed and offers lecture-performance seminars on topics such as: Classical Music of Persia, Understanding Multi-Cultural Identity through Artistic Expression, Music and Spirituality, and Traces of Persian Music in Andalusia. Roya has performed at educational and cultural institutions and international conferences such as the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, the American University, and the World Cimbalom Association’s international conferences in Mexico and Hungary.
She accompanied the flamenco dancer Carmela Greco on her 2004-2005 U. S. tour and has performed on Spain’s national TV (1999) and at the Museum of Flamenco Dance in Seville (2008). The Roya Ensemble has performed at President Obama’s Inaugural celebratory concerts at the Smithsonian Institution, University of Maryland, University of Mary Washington, Shepherd University, Gettysburg World Heritage Festival, Amnesty International’s Human Rights Arts Festival, the Washington Folk Festival, Mansion at Strathmore (2007-2011).For more information about Roya see the Biography and Music pages.
The Roya Ensemble consists of a roster of talented musicians in the greater Washington D.C. area. Click here for the latest demo clip on YouTube.
Richard 'Ricardo' Marlow: Flamenco Guitar
Winner of the 2010 and 2008 Maryland Individual Artist Award, Ricardo Marlow, released his debut solo flamenco guitar album ‘Madera Sonora’ that same year. The most sought-after flamenco guitarist in the greater Washington-Baltimore metro area, he has appeared at The Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage, The Baltimore Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center Concert Hall for the 20th Mayor’s Art’s Awards. (2004-9) Mr. Marlow was a key member in the Edwin Aparicio productions of "Dos Mundos", “Bailes Ineditos”, “Encuentros”, “Intimo”, and "Entresuenos", with guest artists La Tati, Jesus Montoya, Eli “La Truco”, Carmela Greco, Roberto Castellon, and Pedro Cortes jr. He graduated from the James Madison School of Music and subsequently followed his passion in specializing in the flamenco guitar. Mr. Marlow has mastered his art under the tutelage of the master flamenco guitarist Gerardo Nuñez in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain. For more information visit Ricardo's website.
Denis Malloy: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone
B.M., Clarinet, Peabody Conservatory. Mr. Malloy has performed with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, AIM Orchester in Graz Austria, and The Summer Opera Orchestra in Washington. D.C. In addition to his classical performing experience Mr. Malloy also records and performs with his Jazz group Tree House Quartet. He also composes records and performs with a group called Boister, with whom he has collaborated in producing original scores for four silent era films. For more information visit Denis's MySpace page .
Steve Bloom: World Percussion: daf, tombak, congas, cajon, ashiko, bata, shakers
The Washington Post wrote that… “Steve Bloom has never met a rhythm he couldn’t master.” Bloom has gained a command of Cuban, Senegalese, and Nigerian drumming and song in three decades of apprenticing and performing with masters of these traditions, and Sufi practice and drumming with masters Adnan Sarhan of Baghdad, and Dr. Ali Analouei, from Esfahan, Iran. He has toured and performed extensively in the Irish and Early Music genres. Bloom has performed and/or recorded with many wonderful artists, including Tito Puente, King Sunny Ade', Dennis Cahill, Gregg Karukas,Jon Faddis, Paul Horn, Nestor Torres, Andy Gonzales, Michael Manring,and drumming patriarch Babatunde Olatunji. Based in the Washington, DC area, he has designed workshops and clinics for all levels to accelerate participants’ mastery of musical skills. In 1980, he co-founded the Dance Place, a theater and premier studio for Music and Dance in DC. For more information visit Steve's website.
Jonathan Seligman: World Percussion: bodhran, riqq, djembe
Jon Seligman leads the percussion department at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, teaching lessons, pedagogy, ensemble and world music classes. His performing and recording credits include Global Percussion Trio, Mahbood Len Seligman, Michael Formanek’s Minor Infractions Ensemble, Tim Jenkins, and the Christopher James Band. In 2003, Jon Seligman was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Grant for Jazz Composition. His latest original music CD, ‘Quintet Music’ (2010), features Dave Ballou, Bruce Swaim, Harry Appelman and Jeff Reed.
June 4 , 2011 at 1:00 PM, Flier Roya Ensemble's Performance at Washington Folk Festival at the Puppet Theatre, Glen Echo Park, MD.
April 10, 2011 7PM The Mansion at Stratmore: Roya Ensemble's Concert Celebrating CD Release to Benefit Community Outreach Programs.
Top 10 World chart of Candian Radio in Calgary
Press Release: I Am I Am Not, Nov. 5, 2010!
(Cover design by: Sean B Bahrami)Top 10 World chart of Canadian Radio in BC (8 consecutive weeks)
Best Group Finalist 2011 International Acoustic Music Awards
Billboard Discoveries : “World music with a nod to the ages, a beautifully executed set, genteel, graceful and opulently delivered."
