“Iranian-Canadian-American composer Kamyar Mohajer says he draws on his multicultural background for inspiration. An example of that blend of traditions will be premiered at this weekend’s concert by the Rockford Symphony Orchestra,” writes Guy Stephens in Friday’s (2/9) Northern Public Radio (DeKalb, Illinois). “Mohajer was born in Iran in 1976…. ‘My mom was a Persian folk singer, and she always practiced these folk songs at home,’ he recalled….. He also studied the piano and fell in love with western classical music. In 1995 his family moved to Canada,” and Mohajer earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Toronto’s York University. “He continued to study composition with teachers from Juilliard and Stanford. He says the combination of his Iranian roots and western influences forms the basis for his compositions, like the one that premiered in Rockford, titled ‘Bliss.’ He points to a dance theme that is the building block of the first of three short movements. ‘It’s the quintessential Persian dance,’ Mohajer explained. ‘It’s there in the meters of the 13th Century Persian poets…. In Persian pop music, when you think of the dance, this is the rhythm.’ ” Steven Larsen is the Rockford Symphony’s music director.
Posted February 9, 2018
