Ali-Akbar Morādi (Persian: علی‌اکبر مرادی) is a well known Iranian-Kurdish musician and composer and is the leading Tanbur player of Kurdistan, Iran. He was born in 1957 in Gooran, Kermānshāh, Iran. Moradi began playing Tanbur at the age of seven. At age of 12, Moradi began studying with Tanbur masters such as Mirza Sayyed Ali Kafashyan, Kaki Allah Morad Hamidi, Sayyed Vali Hosseini and Mahmoud Alavi. He learned the Kurdish maqam repertoire. He was 30 years old when he completed the entire 72 maqams of Tanbur and became a master of Tanbur. Moradi's professional career began in 1971 as a founding member of the first Tanbur ensemble in Kermānshāh in western Iran. That same year, He gave his first recital in Kermānshāh. In 1981, he started his collaboration with singer Shahram Nazeri, and went on tours in Europe and North America. Moradi has a very distinct and unique style in playing the Tanbur. He is an expert on Tanbur (Kurdish lute) instrument considered as sacred in Kurdish sufi music. He has won many awards, including two honorary diplomas at major music festivals in Iran. Moradi has performed as a soloist and with ensembles in festivals throughout the world. He has performed music in New York, San Francisco and London. On September 30, 2006, he gives a special program as part of Voices of Kurdistan in San Francisco World Music Festival. He currently teaches Tanbur in Kermānshāh and Tehran. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.