Named after an intoxicating beverage used as an offering to the gods in Vedic ritual sacrifice, Som'ma promises to leave the audience in a similar state with its innovative fusion of Persian classical music and avant-garde ideas. The San Francisco-based, seven-member ensemble is led by tonbak player Shirzad Sharif, who studied the richly toned wooden drum under Ostad Bahman Rajabi in Iran. Som'ma also features Alan Kushan, a santur (Persian hammered dulcimer) player of unrivaled technique, elegant musicianship and innovation; Mary Ellen Donald, a nationally acclaimed performer and instructor of Middle Eastern percussion; Mahour Mellat Parast, an Iranian first-rank tar (lute) player, elegant Iranian classical vocalist Nahid Ziaiee, and Bay Area natives Michael Lewis on tabla and John Connel on daf (frame drum). Som'ma recently completed a self-titled recording of their avant-garde Persian music.