Avant-garde musician and concert-performer of Persian/Iranian descent ; musical composer ; musical instrument-maker ; actor ; singer ; and poet. Alan is an internationally recognized Persian avant-garde "santurist", and the leading exponent of the New Santur style. After passing through multifarious phases of musical composition and performance on his supremely delicate yet highly sophisticated musical instrument — his self-made hammer dulcimer or santur —, ranging from traditional Persian music, to fusions of Western classical and Persian mystical music, to jazz and world music, as well as futuristic and avant-garde music, Alan Kushan is still audaciously and earnestly experimenting in the musical realm. His techniques on his self-made santur are indeed altogether fascinating and breathtaking. He studied music composition in Zurich, Köln and Berlin as well as Canada and USA; he also studied with Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Karlheinz Stockhausen and other master musicians.