FLYING CARPET 2018

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to announce that I recently left my teaching position at the Academy of Art University, and I'll be joing Sirkhane Social Circus School as the first Musical Director of this magnificient organization. I will be in Mardin, Turkey four months every year during which will continue to work as a freelance composer, and when not there will be acting as the ambassador of Sirkhane in United Stated and in other parts of the world.

Sirkhane is a project founded by organization Her Yerde Sanat Derneği (Art Anywhere) in 2012 in South Eastern Anatolia, in a region where it’s difficult to be a child and is part of the social circus movement, a global movement that uses circus arts to reach out to children who are considered at risk. Established in 2011 by visionaries, Pinar Demiral and Serdal Adam in Mardin, Turkey, close to the Syrian border, they offer circus arts training and music workshops to thousdands of children and teenagers all over the region in schools and in refugee camps and they empower the children and future visionaries by teaching them creativity, beauty and story-telling skills. In the past 3 years, more than 500 kids have benefited from their classes in Sirkhane, and more than 3000 youngsters took part in workshops all over Mardin region. Over 20,000 children attended the circus performances during their Circus Festival. I am absolutely honored and humbled by their offer and will be dedicating myself to their incredible cause which is highly valuable to me.

We’ll also be working on a large-scale and the first children music festival, named:

“FLYING CARPET”

This music festival is imagined and will be born by a large group of borderless world-class artists, visionaries, idealists and magicians from all around the world in order to create an educational yet colorful and beautiful experience for our children at Sirkhane whom matter the most to us. We do not provide entertainment, we provide the best that arts can offer to the children who deserve the most.

Our artists are from many different countries and from different backgrounds but we all share the same vision, that children matter the most and shall be protected. We are looking forward to this event and to which will happen between September 9th-15th, 2018 in Mardin and we invite you all to join us to witness this magnificent and unique artistic endeavor which we hold very close to your heart. We already have a large line-up of world-class artists and will be soon annoucing our open call for proposal as well. More details will follow soon!

Jump on our #FlyingCarpet2018

Regards,

Sahba

#announcement

Beyond the Dead White Europeans

Present Music concerts are themselves unique creations. The contemporary chamber concert series to be performed this week at four venues – Thursday through Saturday – began with only a title: “Give Chance a Piece.” It was PM ensemble member Eric Segnitz who came up with the title, “and I thought the phrase, and its various meanings, had merit,” says Artistic Director Kevin Stalheim. What began as a daft pun wandered in many directions as it came together.

“I’ve been wanting to do more composers that are outside of the dead white European tradition,” to reflect “where we are in today’s world.” Stalheim observes. The concert represents that diversity: three young women composers with roots in Iran, Armenia, Serbia and India. Their compositions often reflect their heritage and personal experiences. Non-Western musical sources add fresh perspective to their music.

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Music of Spheres - Album Release

I am happy to announce the upcoming release of one of my my recent compositions, Music of the Spheres, in collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), and San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC), as part of Final Answer—San Francisco Girls Chorus’ upcoming album published under Orange Mountain Music. Set for release on Friday February 16th, the album also features works by some of my favourite contemporary musicians, namely Philip Glass, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Theo Bleckmann, Lisa Bielawa, John Zorn, Gabriel Kahane, Carla Kihlstedt,, andMatthew Welch.

The album will be available for purchase as a digital download on Friday, February 16, through iTunes and Amazon.+

Following the US election and recent events in the world, the idea of writing a sacred piece of music was no longer a far-fetched one. I have always believed in the ambition of the arts, setting the bar for freedom. Our global community is currently, more than ever, in desperate need of reconciliation. In hopes to advocate for unity and love, I revisited the purest form of music that I knew of: lullabies of my homeland, Iran. According to Iranian musicologists there are currently more than 600 documented Iranian lullabies, from various regions of Iran where around 24 different ethnicities have lived for centuries. Three lullabies that I have chosen for the Music of the Spheres are from three separate regions with their own specific dialects of Persian—the language spoken by both the people of Iran and Afghanistan. I selected these lullabies from a collection gathered and researched by Iranian iconic vocalist, Sima bina, and used them as vessels to connect the voices of Kronos Quartet, ANIM and SFGC through geographical boundaries, and also, through time, with those who have hummed them to their children, creating a unified, musical human experience. For more informatiomn about Dr. Sarmast's Afghanistan National Institute of Music:

The piece, Music of the Spheres, is very close to my heart. Composed of three Farsi-based lullabies from Birjand, Malāyer and Tehran, this piece began with the intention to not only reference folklore, and melodic narratives as a common ground but also transform them into a new composition that resonates in the current, contemporary era.

The release date coincides with the SFGC's much anticipated debut performance at Carnegie Hall alongside the Philip Glass Ensemble, and I hope to see you there. The performance will include selections from the album. Prior to the SFGC's February 16 Carnegie Hall debut, the Chorus will celebrate the release of Final Answer with a special party and concert on Tuesday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge, one of New York's premier, cutting-edge music venues.

#KronosFestival #KronosQuartet #SanFranciscoGirlsChorus #AfghanistanNationalInstituteofMusic #Kabul #Tehran #SanFrancisco