Calif. symphony, Iran’s maestros to celebrate Persian New Year
Pacific Symphony, in Orange County, California, in its ongoing quest to present a broad array of musical genres for diverse audiences, will celebrate the Persian New Year festival of Norouz, which marks the arrival of spring and has been celebrated since ancient times.
Presented in collaboration with the Farhang Foundation, this special concert, led by Music Director Carl St. Clair, will take place on March 24.
The program will feature works of Khachaturian, Dvorák and contemporary Iranian symphonic music, as well as traditional Persian music, alisolagunanews.com wrote.
Guest artists include acclaimed Iranian conductor and composer Shahrdad Rohani, the internationally acclaimed vocalist Hamayoun Shajarian, along with instrumentalists Sohrab Pournazeri and Tahmoures Pournazeri.
Anoosheh Oskouian, who serves as a trustee of the Farhang Foundation and as a board member of Pacific Symphony, commented, “I am so pleased that the Farhang Foundation will partner with Pacific Symphony to celebrate Norouz.”
She added, “It has been my dream to bring this special Norouz concert onstage to connect the East and West musically.”
Maestro St. Clair said, “For many years now, Pacific Symphony has been striving to embrace Orange County’s rich and diverse communities through contextual programming. This is a way to connect on a more personal level and also reflects my own wish to enrich lives through the beauty and power of music. I greatly look forward to the collaboration between these extraordinary artists, members of Pacific Symphony and myself. We hope to build and deepen bridges between cultures through art and music.”
As one of the most ancient and important festivals of Persian heritage, the Norouz celebration symbolizes the vitality of Persian culture and continues an exultant tradition that unites all those who participate.
Norouz has been celebrated for over 3,000 years, encompassing a broad range of Persian customs; it is among unique Persian cultural events that are pertinent to the traditions of all Persian religious groups.