TED Fellow and composer Sahba Aminikia brings the healing power of dance, storytelling, music and performance to some of the most dangerous places on Earth. By celebrating children and their communities with beauty and joy, he shows how to cultivate hope, connection and love — even in conflict zones. "The ultimate power is in unity," Aminikia says. https://www.ted.com/talks/sahba_aminikia_the_greatest_show_on_earth_for_kids_who_need_it_most?subtitle=en

Composer Sahba Aminikia has created an extraordinary multi-media experience for his 5-month residency at 836M. The Language of the Birds—sometimes known as The Conference of the Birds—is a poem by the 12th-century mystic Attar of Nishapur and among the most treasured Sufi writings, revered by Rumi and others over centuries. Attar’s poem comes alive for a new age in this musical and visual adaptation, which follows a group of birds who overcome doubts and fears to set off in search of a mythical king who will make the world right. Their quest is both a migration to witness this flawed world and a journey of spiritual transformation, as they finally understand that the king they are searching for is none other than themselves, acting as one for the good of all. The residency culminated in two one-hour performances, with collaborators including writer and translator Zara Houshmand, the Living Earth Show (guitarist Travis Andrews and percussionist Andy Meyerson), renowned Premier Ensemble of the San Francisco Girl’s Chorus 2023-2024, multidisciplinary artist, musician, composer, director, and educator David Coulter, media artist John Sanborn, and singer Marjan Vahdat.

Phoenix reflects Music of Remembrance’s commitment to commissioning and premiering new works that bring a human dimension to challenges confronting us in the world. It is a powerful musical statement about the current women’s rights struggle in Iran, scored for voices representing three generations of Iranian women. These voices share the challenges that have demanded their courage, and a deep cultural history underlying the current uprising. Commissioned by Music of Remembrance (2023). Made possible by generous support from Barbara Daniels. Recorded live at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall in Seattle on March 10, 2024. Sahba Aminikia, composer Zara Houshmand, librettist Rachel Hauge, mezzo-soprano; Vanessa Isiguen, soprano; & Madeline Ross, soprano Mikhail Shmidt, violin; Artur Girsky, violin; Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola; Walter Gray, cello; Joseph Kaufman, double bass Join Music of Remembrance online: Website - https://musicofremembrance.org Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MusicofRemembrance Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/musicofremembrance/

“…My home has no place, no sign, no trace, I am neither in body nor soul, nor anywhere other than my love’s life and soul. If ever I spent a moment without you, I’d repent it the rest of my life.” – Rumi TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW: verdigrismusic.org Commissioned by and written specifically for Verdigris, this WORLD PREMIERE immerses its audience into a love story. The story of Rumi and Shams is one of pure transformation. Love means losing yourself into a space where real change may emerge. Sahba’s work inhabits this ancient poetry and music and language and takes the contemporary listener on this same journey of discovery. Verdigris Ensemble presents its Dallas World Premiere of “SHAMS” -- this powerful performance art experience incorporates 16 voices, a string quartet, pre-recorded sounds, visual projection, and staging. It boasts the most extensive collection worldwide of Rumi poetry set to music in its original Farsi. The work is a synergetic collaboration between internationally acclaimed Iranian composer Sabha Aminikia, the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas at Dallas, Syrian visual artist Kevork Mourad, and Verdigris Ensemble.

Our 5th Flying Carpet Festival, the mobile festival for children in conflict zones is coming back to the Turkish Syrian border again between September 15th-25th, 2023. Our open call for artists is now open as well. Please go to: http://www.flyingcarpetfestival.org/apply to apply to be one of our guest artists. Please support our festival at: http://www.flyingcarpetfestival.org/donate Flying Carpet Festival is the first mobile multi-disciplinary arts festival for vulnerable and refugee children living in difficult places worldwide. The Flying Carpet Festival was created in 2018 by Sahba Aminikia, a San Francisco-based Iranian American music composer, in collaboration with Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi (Art Anywhere Association), originally a social circus school and a cultural organization based in Mardin, Türkiye, near the Turkish Syrian border where 3.6 million refugees, half of whom are children are resettled. Other programs held by Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi include; Sirkhane (circus and acrobatic workshops), Sirkhane Darkroom (analog photography workshops), and Müzikhane (music workshops). The festival annually brings 20-40 artists, musicians, dancers, acrobats, and storytellers to the Turkish Syrian border as part of an artist residency. It engages them in creating a cohesive artistic story-telling experience decorated with music, dance, circus arts, and visual projection for children of Syrian, Turkish, and Kurdish origin. The festival forms collaborations between artists-in-residence, local artists, and children artists. Since its conception, The Flying Carpet Festival has reached out to 15,000 children through 38 live performances and 250 workshops and has hosted 82 artists. It also has been mentioned in San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Associated Press, KALW, Medium, and I Care if You Listen. In previous years, Flying Carpet has been sponsored by the United States Embassy in Adana, BMZ (German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development), and the Italian Cultural Institute in Istanbul. Video: Ozgür Mert

"In September 2022, the death of a 22-year old woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody of morality police, sparked an ongoing series of protests against the state's gender apartheid. The Islamic republic's violent crackdown on the protestors has escalated this movement into a full-blown uprising across the country and around the globe. In Iran, protests have been going on every day for the past 2.5 months. 16,813 people have been arrested, and 402 have been gunned down by the security forces, 58 of whom were minors. The Iranian people's revolution asks for FREEDOM and EQUALITY for all." - Sahba Aminikia ------------------------------ text translation: Oh, dear! Join us! Join us! Don’t remain stranded by yourself! For this pain, that we share, Will not recover, In me, the lonesome me, In you, the lonely you. This difficult life, For us, Without a shared battle, Will never become easier. Don’t remain by yourself, Join us, dear! Oh, dear! Join us! Join us! Don’t remain stranded by yourself! For this pain, that we share, Will not recover, In me, the lonesome me, In you, the lonely you. ------------------------------ Music by Parviz Meshkatian (arranged by Sahba Aminikia) Video by Nima Dehghani Performed by KRONOS QUARTET David Harrington, violin John Sherba, violin Hank Dutt, viola Sunny Yang, cello Kronos Quartet appears courtesy of the Kronos Performing Arts Association. SHIRAZ CHOIR AND ENSEMBLE Somaieh Amini, Zahra Asgari, Avideh Danaii, Soheila Farahani, Haleh Ghaffari, Zhila Hariri, Fahimeh Jasbi, Parisa Mirfakhraei, Amin Assadi, Reza Mokhtari, Hadi Rismanchi, and Masoud Tavazoei Amin Assadi, Musical Director and Conductor