Hossein Salehi was first introduced to music at the age of seven during his 1st grade graduation. Salehi saw a group of musicians playing instruments and was asked by his father what he would like as a prize for finishing the 1st grade. He asked his father what they were playing and that he wanted one as his prize. He began to play the santoor, a Persian stringed hammered dulcimer instrument, 70 years ago and hasn’t stopped playing since. In 1979, Salehi, who was a flight instructor at the time, was sent to the United States on a scholarship to attend an advanced aviation course in Alabama. Shortly after leaving Iran, a revolution took place, overthrowing their ruler at the time, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. When given the opportunity to stay in the US to be an instructor pilot, Salehi and his wife decided to return to Iran in hopes to teach his learnings to students. In 1987, Salehi and his wife made the permanent move to the US, taking the offer to be an instructor. They now reside in Oregon. Salehi founded ArtMax Academy in 2009 with eight other professional board members, mostly musicians, in hopes to spark love, passion and education to anyone and everyone who is willing to learn and master cross-cultural musical instruments.
When did you start teaching?
I started teaching in High School to classmates, siblings and later to my children and to my wife. Overall, I have taught roughly over 1,100 people. It all started with the santoor, tombak (goblet drum, and daf (skin frame). The santoor has always been a close friend, helping me in my own life through ups and downs. In any case, the santoor has been a very good friend, assisting me and reflecting on my own melody. Whatever I have learned in the past 40, 50, 60 and 70 years, I teach and pass to the next generation.
What do you do at ArtMax Academy? What is ArtMax?
I am the founder and executive director of ArtMax. I shared my vision with a group of music lovers, who are mostly my former students. Each one of them shares the love of music that I have. Everyone is volunteering at ArtMax to carry the torch and pass it on to the next generation. ArtMax focuses on music, language, and performing arts. My wife has extensive experience in teaching Farsi and she currently has students aging from 6 years to 80+ years old. I have the same range of students– from 5 years to 90. There is no age limit, there is no barrier. Everyone is welcome who wants to express themselves and learn something from us. We have a number of “exotic” instruments at ArtMax, such as the santoor, oud and kamancheh. If you call in and ask for a harpist, we can reach out to a qualified harp teacher and pair off students with teachers. Everything is available. From guitar, piano, saxophone, flute, tombak, daf, and santoor, we have them. If it is anything other than what we have, I will reach out and find an instructor.
How do you shape the kids of today?
The first thing you will learn from learning music is discipline. You have to gather your thoughts from everywhere and gain your focus. You have to be concentrated and pay attention to details and remain dedicated to this art form. After that, what you will learn as a student, whether it’s one month taking a lesson or five years, is you will build up a confidence of your identity and who you are. All of the students who come to my class first learn to believe in themselves. Once they believe in themselves, they can do whatever any other musician can do and more. It builds, creates and develops the creativity of that person. The more they know, the more they have the ability to create their own melodic sentences. We will refine that sentence together.
How do you see art and music shaping your future?
Music has been shaping me. It is my first nature. Whatever I do, it has a rhythm. I see all sounds and all actions in the form of melodic music. That is how I express my feelings with the music. I am trying to train capable students to keep the school, ArtMax up and running for the future generation. My wife and I are trying to keep the culture alive and share it with others. We both are certified and recipients of Culture Keepers by OFN (Oregon Folklife Network).
How will music change the world?
Music will shape and bring hearts together. Hopefully that will take us one step closer to peace. I see music taking people closer to peace. It is never too late to learn an instrument. I am retired from the 9-5 office job but I still play. ArtMax has an open house on June 14th from 2-4pm, where I will play with my students. In two weeks on June 28th, we will be playing at the World Beat Festival in Salem, representing the country of Iran.
"It is never too late to learn an instrument."
Hossein Salehi
Art Max Academy founder, Santur musician, renowned teacher, friend to all and avid music lover.
Phone: (503) 707-1700
Website: artmax.org
Instagram: @artmaxacademy