“Slowly but surely I realized where my heart lied, both musically and personally. On my own, without access to any proper training, I dove head first into the study of the santur, avaz, and then setar, dabbling in tombak and tar.“
“Creating and performing this music was as if I was returning to a place that I have never been. But, I was definitely returning. Never had I been able to express myself so clearly before, and the language I chose was unmistakably Iranian. My entire life I have identified myself as an Iranian, in an environment that told me not to.“
Fared learned the santur thoroughly, but santour was limiting for composing music. He needed an instrument like the cello which would be strong and would let him jump from dastgah to dastgah. This led him to setar. He started with his instrument of choice, the setar at 15. His father brought one for him from Iran. Fared says he could not immediately connect with this instrument for another 4 years, when he turned 19.
