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International
violinist and composer Farzad strongly believes
in "the oneness of humanity" and strives
to communicate "the commonality of human emotions" through
the music he composes and performs. On his latest
album, Mirror of Emotions, he utilizes his violin
to create music that reflects his emotions in the
hope that listeners will discover similar feelings
within themselves.
Classically-trained, Farzad makes music
that falls into the arena of classical crossover or
contemporary
classical with elements of Mideastern folkloric (reflecting
his heritage), Latin (influenced by time spent living
in South America where he was the concertmaster of
the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador), other
world musics, new age and smooth jazz. "Just like
we enjoy eating different foods from countries all
over the world, we should appreciate music from everywhere
too," states Farzad. "I don't believe in
musical limitations. I don't care what style music
is if it is good. In the classical field I was always
a rebel because I was never comfortable listening to
just one type of music."
One reason that Farzad stresses the common
ties of all humanity is because of his worldwide travels
and
his personal odyssey. He was born and raised in Tehran,
Iran, but left there at age 18 and had his college
education in the United States. When Khomeini came
into power in the late Seventies, most of Farzad's
family was persecuted for their belief in the Bahá'í
religion so they fled and were scattered around the
world. One of his uncles was executed in Iran for his
faith. Farzad has never returned. "I have lived
longer in the United States than I did in Iran," he
says, "and I appreciate the freedoms we have here
because I have seen the danger of political and military
rulers who persecute anyone with different beliefs."
When Farzad Khozein was six-years-old,
he began taking violin lessons from his uncle, Rahmatolláh
Badiyi, one of the top violinists and kamáncheh
(like a small Persian cello) players in Iran. In the
past
few years, Farzad returned the favor by producing an
album by Badiyi, Sounds of the Violin and Kamáncheh,
for Amity Records. In addition, both perform traditional
Persian music on the album Mystery of Love with vocalist
Parisa Badiyi, Rahmatolláh's daughter. Farzad
was accepted into the Conservatory of Music in Tehran
when he entered
the fourth grade and he began dedicated studies of
Western classical music that culminated there when
he graduated with his diploma. He spent one summer
living in Kenya, Africa with his brother. Farzad continued
his education at Indiana University where he studied
with violinists Yuval Yaron, Franco Gulli and James
Buswell. Farzad also took composition classes from
John Newton and jazz improvisation with David Baker. "There
were tremendous opportunities to hear and perform concerts
there," Farzad remembers. He played regularly
with the school’s full orchestra, chamber orchestra,
string quartets and orchestral bands backing opera
and ballet performances. Farzad, who left for one semester
to study with Jesse Cecci (the concert master with
the Denver Symphony Orchestra), received his Bachelors
of Music degree in performance.
Some of Farzad’s family had settled in South
America, so he went to visit for a year and immediately
got a job as concert master with the National Symphony
Orchestra of Ecuador. "While I was there I developed
a real love for Latin music, especially the energy,
driving rhythms and innovative melodic lines." Back
in the United States, he decided to continue his education
at the University of North Texas where he received
his Masters degree in music performance and composition.
During those years, Farzad performed constantly at
night and on weekends with Houston’s Ballet,
Grand Opera and Pop Orchestra companies (one time sharing
the stage with Woody Herman) as well as with the Dallas
Opera and the Ft. Worth Symphony.
"
I started composing music when I was in second grade,
but it became a much more serious endeavor when I was
in college. I also began studying traditional Persian
folkloric music because it reminded me of my youth.
Everything I write comes from the harmony, which is
a little strange, but that’s my tendency because
I love harmony so much. I hear a melody and I start
working around it. I prefer playing the second violin
part on Brahms’s string quartet pieces because
he wrote such amazing harmony parts. I use the piano
for compositional purposes, and I play it a little
on the tune 'Why?', but I primarily use the violin
for performance."
Farzad moved to Albuquerque and turned
his attention from live performances to recording,
although he played
at a summer festival in Santa Fe, various colleges,
and occasional parties and business gatherings. He
also was invited to serve as the concert master for
the Second Bahá’i World Congress Orchestra in
New York City which included concerts for 30,000 attendees.
Farzad recorded his first album, From
My Heart, creating
all the music himself. The album, which hit The Music
Review Top 100 charts, contained a mix of original
compositions as well as his contemporary arrangements
of Persian folk music. In recent years, Farzad has
performed throughout the United States and internationally
in Canada, Europe and South America. In the summer
of 2002, Farzad co-headlined (with the Colombian band
Millero Congo and various international singers) a
six-week "Oneness Tour" produced by multi-Grammy-Award-winning
K.C. Porter, who has worked with Ricky Martin, Carlos
Santana and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The concerts were
put on by Oneness, a non-profit organization that promotes
racial unity through music and the arts. "We didn’t
preach, but simply tried to touch the audience with
our message through the music," explains Farzad.
"
I think humankind has the opportunity to move forward
and overcome all of the problems the world faces. If
we start with communication and sharing, more and more
of a global realization of possibilities will take
place. Some governments may delay the process, but
they cannot stop it. We are at a new point of maturity
for humanity. I truly believe that humanity is destined
for something more noble than what we have seen in
the past."
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