Pouya Saraei (Persian: پویا سرایی) is an Iranian composer, arranger, conductor,^[4] lecturer,^[5] music critic, researcher, and musician.^[6][7][8]

Saraei began playing the santur at age seven, taking lessons from Javad Bathaie, Faramarz Payvar, Hossein Alizadeh, Pashang Kamkar, Dariush Talai, Mostafa Kamal Pourtorab, Hassan Riahi, Sharif Lotfi, Farid Omran, Majid Derakhshani, and Mohammad-Reza Lotfi.^[4]

He has played the instrument on over 220 musical projects, including on Schiller's album Morgenstund, which topped the German music charts,^[9] and the first track of Modes, composed by Karen Keyhani^[10] and published by Navona Records.^[11] He worked on the album In The Name Of The Red Rose with Dastan Ensemble and Salar Aghili.

Saraei performed in Europe as a part of the "Simorq" project, conducted by Hooman Khalatbari, performed by Homayoun Shajarian, and composed by Hamid Motebassem.^[1] He has composed and arranged several works, including Gahi, Segahi, a Persian traditional music album. His second album, In Sare Sodaei, was a collaboration with Pejman Hadadi. He has played with the Eshtiagh Orchestra and Alireza Ghorbani in Iran,^[12] as well as in music festivals in Switzerland, China, and France.^[13][14][15] Saraei has conducted the orchestra for the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan.^[16] His works were showcased in an exhibition during the Vienna International Book Fair.^[17]

Saraei holds a PhD in art studies from Tehran University and is a professor and maestro at Tehran University of Art, University of Tehran, and Islamic Azad University. He is on the editorial board of the Mehregani Magazine^[18] and has written multiple articles and critical reviews. He is also one of the speakers and performers in international conference of persian music at Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany.^[19]