Hossein Omoumi was born in 1944 in Isfahan, and is considered as one of the best ney players of Iran. Captured by the magical sound of master Hassan Kassai's ney, Omoumi began to learn the instrument with him when he was fourteen years old. At the same time he studied the vocal Radif with master Mahmoud Karimi. Later he collaborated with the Iranian National Radio and Television broadcasting. Omoumi taught the ney at The Iranian Center for Preservation and Dissemination of Music, the National Conservatory, and the Tehran University.

He left Iran in 1984 and pursued his artistic career in Europe and the United States. He received his doctorate in architecture from the University of Florence. Later he moved to France and started teaching ney and Avaz at the Center for Oriental Music Studies in Paris. His research on the making of the ney opened new possibilities in playing techniques which have been approved by master Kassa'i. Omoumi has been featured as the ney soloist in the soundtrack of the movie "The Sweet Hereafter", which won several awards at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival.