Member Biographies

Kamran Hooshmand: Oud, , saz, Afghan rabab, Persian Santour, 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 2002 release entitled "Ojala" was recently re-released.

Don Weeda: Accordion

Despite his initial exposure to the accordion being limited to a babysitter who liked to watch Lawrence Welk, Don Weeda has come to spend half his life playing the accordion. His original music training was on the piano, but frequent moves made tracking down a piano in a new location difficult. His interest in international folk dancing led him to Washington DC for the summer long Folklife Festival in 1976 and there Don bought his first accordion.

Today Don Weeda is an in-demand accompanist for such groups as the Austin International Folk Dancers, the Austin Friends of Traditional Music, and Texas International Folk Dancers. Besides 1001 Nights, Don also performs regularly with his international folk dance band Slavadillo.

Ken Maranian: Clarinet, Zurna and Duduk

Ken Maranian brings the beautiful style of Armenian and Anatolian clarinet to the group. Ken spent his childhood in the midst of a large Armenian community outside of Boston. He was very fortunate to grow up listening to his grandfather play the oud and sing folk songs at home. Ken's grandfather also played with his own band, the "Ardziv Nvakakhoump" (or "The Eagles").

From his grandfather's wonderful music, Ken was inspired to learn and play the music of Armenia and the Middle East. Ken also plays a bit on the zurna, a reed instrument played throughout the Middle East from North Africa to India. This instrument is often used to accompany the bride and groom in weddings, and has an incredible sound. Besides playing with 1001 Nights, one of Ken's favorite projects is Austin's Annual Armenian Mardi Gras Dance - a unique event which attracts a large crowd of Austin party-goers who dance all night long to Armenian and Middle Eastern music!

Lauren DeAlbert: Percussion

Lauren DeAlbert has been playing percussion for 9 years. She has studied with some of the best percussionists in the world, including Swapan Chaudhuri, Zakir Hussain, Inindo Chatterjee, and Ty Burhoe. Lauren has attended the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. She has traveled to the Middle East to study the art of the Doumbek, and traveled to Maui, Hawaii, to study tabla under Daniel Paul, one of the world’s few tabla tarang players. On Maui, Lauren learned the art of the Aboriginal Didjeridu, using the sounds of whales, dolphins, and birds, as her inspiration. Locally she has played and recorded with: 1001 Nights Orchestra, Oliver Rajamani, The Gypsies, Teye & Viva Flamenco, Govinda, Anita Jung, Ojala, and Divahn, among others. Lauren uses a holistic approach to teaching, seeing the important correlation between the experience of music and the living of one’s life.

Besides the core of the group several musicians collaborate with the band regularly or on occasion including bassist Mark Rubin, percussionist Anne Alexander and violinist Lisa Schneider.