A Journey to Iran
A Culminating Community Celebration of “Growing Songs”
Sold Out!
Saturday, August 26, 2023 | Doors Open 5:00 PM, Music to Follow at 6:00 PM
Private Residence in Oakland, California
Drinks & Hors D’oeuvres will be provided. Address provided upon RSVP.
‘Growing Songs’ will present original music by renowned Iranian vocalist Mahsa Vahdat and composer Atabak Elyasi, in a special performance that brings together musicians from both Persian and Western Classical music traditions.
Mahsa and other vocalists will perform lyrical melodies based on the works of ancient Persian poets (including Rumi and Hafez), accompanied by classical string players and traditional Persian instrumentalists, creating a unique musical experience which brings together the sound worlds of two rich cultural traditions.
Mahsa Vahdat, Voice
Born in 1973 in Tehran, vocalist, activist and composer Mahsa Vahdat has performed as an independent singer and musician in many concerts and festivals throughout the world. With her profound command and vision of the Persian musical tradition has developed a highly personal style of performance, rooted in Persian classical and regional vocal music and its complex system of modes, melodic motives, and ornamentation, infused with contemporary and innovative expressions and influences.
Her many performance and recording projects include collaborations with many of the world's most acclaimed musicians including Marjan Vahdat, Mighty Sam McClain, Kronos Quartet, Tord
Gustavson, Atabak Elyasi , Teatr Zar, SKRUK Choir, Kitka and countless others. Through creative dialogues with her collaborators, and explorations as an unaccompanied soloist, she has developed a diverse, unique, and wide-ranging repertoire.
Atabak Elyasi, Composer & Setar
Iranian-American musician and composer Atabak Elyasi, of Berkeley, is a master of the Persian setar — the instrument most commonly used to accompany the voice in traditional Persian music. Atabak has played and performed Setar for the majority of his life and has been teaching this sacred instrument for at least 30 years, passing on this lineage to innumerable students. Atabak has worked on several renowned musical projects with 2018 ACTA mentor artist Mahsa Vahdat and her sister Marjan as a setar player, composer and musical arranger, as well as arranging pieces for the Skruk Choir in Norway and the Kronos Quartet.
Khatchadour Khatchadourian, voice and duduk
Khatchadour is an Armenian vocalist and a duduk woodwind musician based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. He grew up singing in the Armenian children's choir, Karoun, and credits his focus on meditative genres to his early years singing in Orthodox Armenian church. He began playing the Armenian woodwind Duduk in 2006, and sings in Armenian, Arabic and Farsi languages. He holds Bachelor's degrees in both Anthropology & Middle Eastern Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Adrienne Shamszad, Voice
An Oakland, California native of Iranian heritage, Adrienne Shamszad sings revolutionary anthems, prayerful power ballads, blues, lullabies, and love songs in English and in Farsi. Her strong and soulful voice, expressive guitar work and bold performance style have made her a popular West Coast performer for over a decade.
Adrienne’s poetry is intimate and genuine, inspired by the mystic Poets of Iran as much as the folk poet-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. She can transform a stage into a sacred place with the magic of her voice.
Her mixed cultural background, international travels, and deep love of people reside in her music. She aspires to open listeners’ hearts to the unfamiliar and, in doing so, invite more understanding, courage and curiosity into this world. Since beginning formal training in Traditional Iranian vocal arts and music in 2016, Adrienne's music has expanded to a genre of it's own as she brings the messages of her ancestors into the present.
Nigel Armstrong, Violin
Nigel Armstrong is emerging as a dynamic and creative artist both within and beyond the realm of classical music. From his musical beginnings as a member of "The Little Fiddlers" in Sonoma, CA to collaborations with tango musicians in Argentina he's enjoyed using the violin in a versatile manner throughout his life.
As soloist and chamber musician Nigel has performed with orchestras throughout the world, and feels fortunate to have had the chance to explore great orchestral literature throughout his career.
Nigel also recently had the opportunity to live with and learn from the Plum Village community founded by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, where he spent a year working on their organic farm and taking part in their daily life, an experience for which he continues to be grateful.
Milad Yousufi, Composer
Milad is a pianist, composer, conductor, poet, singer, painter and calligrapher from Afghanistan. Milad’s work is deeply inspired by his country and culture. Milad has a dream to make a difference in the future of music and culture in Afghanistan. He has been commissioned to compose for numerous venues internationally: The New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Center, Refugee Orchestra Project, Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Music Worcester, Terezin Music Foundation, Boston Symphony Hall, Refugee Orchestra Project, Barbican Center in London, Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra, Trio Solisti, Worcester Chamber Music Society, and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2022 Hollywood made a movie about Milad’s life called (Paper Piano). Milad had the privilege to write the original score for (Paper Piano), released on Apple TV, "Little America". In June 2023, Milad wrote the film score for Oscar Qualifying film titled (The Night Doctrine) which was selected among 8,000 short films from all around the world for Tribeca Film Festival.
Audrey vardanega, piano
Praised as a “[musically] eloquent” (San Francisco Classical Voice) player “with the kind of freedom, authority, and strength…that one expects from the world’s finest pianists” and a “bewitching musical presence” (The Piedmont Post), American pianist and arts entrepreneur Audrey Vardanega (b.1995) has performed as a solo and collaborative pianist across Europe, China, and the United States. In response to her passion for bringing artists together for opportunities for performance, the creation of new work, and interdisciplinary collaboration, Audrey founded Musaics of the Bay in 2019. Musaics is a nonprofit chamber music series dedicated to connecting musicians, composers, and visual artists for collaborations, residency programs, mentorship, and the creation of new work in the Bay Area and beyond. From March 2020 to April 2021, Musaics of the Bay presented "The Stay-at-Home Symposium," commissioning over 75 new works of music inspired by community-submitted artwork. The Symposium involved over 100 artists from around the world, including performers, composers, poets, filmmakers, painters, photographers, and more, for virtual collaboration.
Peter Myers, Cello
Praised for the warmth of his sound and range of color, American cellist Peter Myers (b. 1985) is internationally known as a chamber musician. A founding member of the Saguaro Piano Trio, which won first prize in the 2009 International Chamber Music Competition Hamburg, as well as SAKURA, a unique and innovative quintet of cellos, Mr. Myers has appeared at the Marlboro, La Jolla, and Mozaic festivals, on tour with Musicians from Marlboro, and abroad in Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, Laos, and Pakistan. Since 2017, he has held the position of Assistant Principal Cello with the San Francisco Opera; he has also performed as guest principal cellist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. His mentors have included Ronald Leonard at the Colburn Conservatory and Ralph Kirshbaum at the University of Southern California. He plays on an 1876 cello by Claude-Augustin Miremont.