Home Ensemble Media News Contact

 

Artists

Javid Afsari Rad Pejman Haddadi Behnam Samani Shahram Gholami Davood Varzideh Reza Samani Berit Cardas Elisabeth S. Lie Gro Lovdahl Emery Cardas Marius Knudsen Flatby

 Guest Artists Alireza Ghorbani

javid afsari rad

Both 2007 and 2008 saw the Iranian musician Javid Afsari Rad being granted the title of “Artist of the Year”.He was first awarded the title by the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra for his commission work to the orchestra in 2006 which he performed with the orchestra.

In the category of established Artist regarded as most innovative and who has been an essential contributor to great musical experiences with the Orchestra during the last season, the prize was attributed to musician and composer Javid Afsari Rad. ”!e meeting with this composer and musician was one of last years greatest experiences for the Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. His music, and his communicative skills, took the Orchestra on a journey that few other symphony orchestras ever have the good fortune to embark on. By means of dancing rhythms, ”unusual” scales and harmonies the orchestra was brought to Iran, among Persian ornaments and Sufi poetry singing praises to Love”, the jury stated.

On May 10th in 2008 the Oslo municipality of Norway granted the title “Artist of the Year” for his extensive musical work in the capital of Norway the past 20 years. “Javid Afsari Rad is known for his innovative performances and ingenious composition. (..) He is a pioneer in world music in Norway and his various performances are highly regarded in multicultural areas”, the Mayor of Oslo, Mr.Fabian Stang, stated.

The two awards are recent recognitions of a rich, colorful and original musical carrier. !is carrier includes studies in western classical music, western medieval music, collaborations with musicians from all over the world and music composing based on Persian classical music with new flavours as a result of a variety of influences.

Javid Afsari Rad was born in Isfahan, central Iran, in 1965. His first mentor on his main instrument Santur was musician Saeed Naeemi Manesh. At 16, he entered the Tehran Academy of Arts, where he studied music theory and was introduced to Radif, the Persian classical music repertoire, by the masters Faramarz Payvar and Parviz Meshkatian. His studies led him to Norway, where he later graduated from the University of Oslo in the field of Musicology.

During the years Javid Afsari Rad has performed solo in world music festivals in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, and he has done ensemble works with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, a classicist on the Indian flute Bansuri who has made a conscious effort to reach out and expand the audience for classical Indian music. Gathering the 10 member group of Combonations in 2000, he combined music and musicians from Iran, India, China, Morocco, Senegal, Gambia and Brazil in a fireworks of a concert show that toured Norway, Sweden and India. !ey released their debut album the year after.

Ensemble Caravan, with musicians from Iran and India, united musical traditions from various parts of Iran with Indian music. In 2002 Javid Afsari Rad conceived and composed Asiatic Caravan, featuring musicians and dancers from Iran, China and India, the audio highlights of which was released as Golestan. During his residence in Norway he has also composed various music for film and theatre.

The internationally higly acclaimed Persian percussion ensemble Zarbang explores various rhythms of Iranian music in combination with percussive and melodic instruments from other cultures. In addition to Javid Afsari Rad the members are Pejman Hadadi, Mehrdad Arabi, Behnam Samani, Reza Samani, and Morshed Mehregan. Zarbang was founded in 1996 with the aim of assembling some of the finest percussionists from the Persian music scene, introducing Persian percussion instruments to an international audience. Zarbang has toured the US, Canada and Europe several times, and this fall they will do an extensive tour in Europe with Ustad Hossein Alizadeh.

Forming the Rumi Ensemble in 2007 with a classical string quintet and some of the foremost musicians on the Iranian contemporary music scene, he performed his own commission work for the new Norwegian Scene of traditional music and dance. !e ensemble will record their music September 08, and will be available for touring in the period after.

For the time being Afsari Rad is preparing his Solo Album, containing both repertoire from the vast Radif tradition of Iranian classical music and also some of his own compositions influenced by his colorful and rich personal history, going from the east to the west, catching ideas from both cultural spheres.