Sun 30 Nov 2025, 11:00 – A Musical Journey: Iran, India, Japan and Brazil

Chieko & Hamid bring together two unique voices: the warm, lyrical cello and voice of Chieko Donker Duyvis (Brazilian/Japanese roots) and the deep, bluesy sound of Hamid Reza Behzadian’s slide guitar and voice (Iranian roots). Their music flows between Persian blues, Indian ragas, Brazilian and Japanese folk music in original compositions, always grounded in deep creativity and improvisation.

The duo invites listeners into an intimate space where traditions dissolve and reappear in unexpected ways — a cello line that bends like a raga, a blues phrase that echoes Persian melodies, a voice that weaves through both worlds. Their music is a dialogue: between cultures, between instruments, and between two artists who share a love for storytelling through sound.

Hamid Reza Behzadian is a cross-over musician with Iranian roots. In his hometown Tehran he immersed himself in early blues on slide guitar and harmonica, developing his distinctive Persian blues sound. In the Netherlands, he graduated from Codarts Conservatory in Indian classical music on Indian slide guitar. In his performances, he takes the audience on a musical journey, where influences from his Persian heritage merge in surprising ways with Indian ragas and Delta blues. In spring 2025, he released his instrumental album Blues for Leila.

CHIEKO is an interdisciplinary artist, cellist, vocalist and composer from Amsterdam with Brazilian/Japanese roots.

Her unique way of playing the cello and voice in her compositions resulted in several tours through Europe, Asia, artistic residencies in Brazil and Mexico tours, playing at EuroJazz festival and major stages in NL like Concertgebouw and Bimhuis with her original music.

An interdisciplinary artist at heart, she developed herself into performing theatre, creating scores for several international documentaries, working with dance and visual artists, creating original new work.

She played special projects with members of Concertgebouw orchestra and was Artist in Focus for Cello Biennale 2024, where she was invited as a soloist with Dutch Wind Ensemble, premiering her new compositions for cello, voice and wind orchestra in a tour through the Netherlands.