Paulus Khofri

Paulus Khofri, was an Assyrian composer, lyricist and painter.

He was born August 7, 1923, in Baghdad, Iraq and died in Tehran, Iran in May 2000 at the age of 77.

Paulus Khofri's father, Jibrael Khofri, and his mother Victoria, were of Assyrian descent and originally from Iran.

They fled Iran during the Assyrian Genocide of World War I, migrating to Iraq, where they lived for many years.

In 1928, the Khofri family returned to Iran and settled in Kermanshah in Western Iran.

Khofri grew up in Kermanshah and graduated from high school there.

Khofri's father was an accordion player who inspired his son to learn the instrument.

Khofri soon began to develop popular Assyrian music into a classical style; eventually, this led to the establishment of the Assyrian Music Ensemble, which performed many concerts for the Assyrian community in Kermanshah.

Khofri continued his musical studies in composition through correspondence courses from the United States and finally obtained a diploma in music composition and harmony from the United States School of Music, a correspondence school located in Port Washington, New York.

Khofri conducted the Saint Joseph Catholic Church Choir in Tehran for many years and also taught piano and music on the side while working for the Iranian Oil Company until his retirement.

Khofri is credited with composing numerous Assyrian folk songs in both Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and Persian.

An accomplished painter, along with these musical compositions, he often included landscapes of villages in Urmia done in black ink or water color.

In 1985, the Assyrian Foundation of America, in Berkeley, California, gave him an award in recognition of his work in Assyrian folk music.