| — | Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times (Music review: Pacific Symphony celebrates Iranian New Year) |
How people prepare for Nowruz in Orange County, California! Photos of the Haft-Sin table in Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall before the Nowruz-Celebrating Spring concerts, courtesy of the Farhang Foundation. www.PacificSymphony.org/Nowruz
How people prepare for Nowruz in Iran. Look at all those goldfish!
نوروز ۱۳۹۱ - با تشکر از دوستم مسرت ابراهیمی
preparations for nowruz 1391 celebrations in iran (thanks to my friend massy)
The Journey Toward The Piece is a 7-part series of interviews with composer Richard Danielpour discussing his oratorio Toward a Season of Peace, commissioned by Pacific Symphony for the 2012 American Composers Festival celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Pacific Symphony’s Celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and the premiere of Richard Danielpour’s epic oratorio “Toward a Season of Peace” are discussed by John Forsyte (Pacific Symphony President), Carl St.Clair (Pacific Symphony Music Director), Anoosheh M. Oskouian (Pacific Symphony Board Member) and Richard Danielpour (composer).
NOWRUZ-CELEBRATING SPRING
March 22-24, 2012, 8 p.m.
March 25, 2012, 3 p.m.
Carl St.Clair - conductor
Farhad Mechkat - conductor
Shams Ensemble
Hila Plitmann - soprano
Pacific Chorale, John Alexander - artistic director
PROGRAM:
Kodaly: Dances of Galanta (March 22-24 only)
Traditional Persian Music: performed by the Shams Ensemble and Pacific Symphony
Danielpour: Toward a Season of Peace (world premiere)
SPECIAL FESTIVAL CONCERT
March 27, 2012
Shams Ensemble performs Traditional Persian Music
For tickets visit pacificsymphony.org/nowruz.
Pacific Symphony’s Classical Connections concert, “A New Day—Celebrating Nowruz,” onSunday, March 25, at 3 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, deeply probes Danielpour’s new work. Written for orchestra, chorus and soprano solo, “Toward a Season of Peace” brings together sacred texts from different religious traditions, woven together with texts by the great Sufi poet Rumi. (Sufism is generally defined as the inner, mystical, esoteric dimension of Islam). Led by St.Clair, the performance features soprano Hila Plitmann and the Pacific Chorale and the Shams Ensemble. Read more about the Festival
Concluding ACF, Nowruz, on Tuesday, March 27, at 8 p.m., in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is a concert devoted to thehighly acclaimed Shams Ensemble, which draws its influence from traditional Kurdish, Sufi and classical Iranian music. The group was founded by composer Kaykhosro Pournazeri in 1977 with a vision of bringing back the lost art of the tanbour through compositions that fused the tanbour and daf with other traditional classical instruments. Over the years, there have been more than 50 players and singers. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, women were banned from performing solo in front of men—that includes singing or playing any instruments. Only recently, women have been included as vocalists and players of the tanbour. Read more about the Festival
The American Composers Festival opens with “Nowruz—Celebrating Spring,” exploring intersections between American and Persian music, on Thursday-Saturday, March 22-24, at 8 p.m. in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Led by St.Clair, the performance features Grammy Award-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, known for her astonishing voice. Her ability to perform challenging new works makes her the ideal choice to perform, along with the Pacific Chorale, the concert’s centerpiece, the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s “Toward a Season of Peace.” Also on the program is Iran’s preeminent conductor, Farhad Mechkat, who takes turns with St.Clair on the podium, including conducting Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta”; plus, the highly acclaimed Shams Ensemble performs Persian music. Read more about the Festival
Radio personality Alan Chapman interviews composer Richard Danielpour whose new oratorio Toward a Season of Peace receives its world premiere during Pacific Symphony’s March 23-25, 2012 Nowruz Persian New Year Celebration.
For tickets visit pacificsymphony.org/nowruz.
“Because it’s music that stirs the heart and wakes the senses,” says Music Director Carl St.Clair. “Especially during the spring; this is a time to reflect and look forward. The musical heritage of Persia is very old and rich with its own style and character.”
“Our Nowruz celebration will create a festive atmosphere that is filled with music of integrity, joy, fun and is in keeping with the celebratory spirit of Nowruz,” continues St.Clair. To hear more from the maestro, check out this Inside In video:
