On January 21, the Iranshahr Orchestra, conducted by Stefan Lano and Shahab Paranj, celebrated the 70th birthday of American composer Richard Danielpour. The program features violinist Ida Kavafian performing Fiat Lux, Danielpour’s violin concerto, as well as his Symphony for Strings. The concert also includes two works that reflect the composer’s Persian heritage: Songs of Love and Loss, sung by acclaimed American soprano Hila Plitmann, and Breaking the Veil, performed by soloists Catherine Gregory, Kristin Wolfe Jensen, and Alecia Lawyer.

UCLA’s commitment to celebrating and preserving Iranian music continues to expand...

...Richard Danielpour is a distinguished professor and professional composer who will be the director for the Center. Danielpour said the Center will combine the research elements of the ethnomusicology department and the performance elements of the music department. As a musician himself, he said the study of non-Western music is crucial to creating a global awareness of music. But to bring Iranian music to a larger audience, he said performances are essential in order to give audiences the chance to appreciate the powerful emotional aspects of the music.

“Research study is alone not sufficient to the task to bring an awareness of any rich culture of non-Western music, particularly Persian music, which can only be understood truly in the experience of its performance,” Danielpour said. “And that goes for not only the ancient Persian music to which many of us have a curatorial responsibility to maintain, but also the creation of new works, which are inspired by the tradition of Persian music.”