He was born in Tehran, Iran. His father taught him the principles of Iranian music. He progressed through the following teacher, learning the authentic traditional Iranian music: Badiie, Tajvadi, Safvat, Amirqasemi, Bhari, and Broumand. In 1972, after receiving a degree in music from the University of Tehran, he went to the University of Illinois to enroll in the masters program in musicology under Dr. Bruno Nettl. He received his M.M. degree in 1975 and continued his education in the doctoral program in music education under Dr. Charles Leonhard and Dr. Richard Colwell. He received his doctorate in music education in 1979.