Kazem Davoudian was born in Mashhad in 1955. He received his B.A in music from the college of Arts at the Tehran University in 1980. During this years as a student he studied Persian music theory and Radif–Navazi under the supervision of such renowned masters as M. Kiani, Mohammad Reza Lotfi and D. Safvat. His performance skills were enriched by the notable teachers Esmaeel Tehrani (Santur) and Bahman Rajabi (Tombak). He also studied Western Classical Music and Composition with Kambiz Roshan-Ravan, specializing in cello.
After his graduation, Davoudian performed with various musical ensembles while he served as an instructor of santur to intermediate and advanced students at the Center for Preservation and Advancement of Iranian Music.
During the years 1983-89 he dedicated much of his time to composing music. He was commissioned to write a number of works for the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Tehran under of the Iranian National Radio and Television. These include: The Mystery of the Life, Autumn and Var-Saghi; to name a few. Among his other works are Duets for two Santurs, Tar and Santur, as well as the soundtrack for the film “Grand Cinema“.
Davoudian migrated to the U.S. in 1990. He has continued contributing to the growth the development of Traditional Persian Music through performing, composing, teaching, as well as making santurs. Most recently he performed with Maestro Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Philadelphia. Prior to that he toured the U.S. and Canada with Maestro Hossein Alizadeh in the National Instruments Ensemble as well as the Dastan Ensemble in 1991 and 92 respectively. Drawing upon his talent as a cellist and composer of western music and western influences in his most recent composition for Cello and Santur. He has also composed a symphony orchestra piece on a poem by “Nima Youshij” for Maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian.
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