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My dear Maestro, Dr. Dinos Constantinides, I cannot believe this has really happened, and you are not with us in this world anymore. I have no words to express my sadness, and I regret I cannot meet you or hear your voice again! I have had the most incredible memories working with you as a student and assistant for five years, and I cherish every single day we had together. Everyone knows your fantastic music and your true love for music, but not everyone may know your wonderful personality. You were so kind, so generous, so understanding, and so caring to people. You wanted all the best for everybody, and your heart was such big to love and support everyone. You have had a significant influence on the lives of many, including myself. I could not be the person and composer I am today without you. I have learned many great lessons from you, most importantly hard work and dedication for constant progress. I admire every music lesson I had with you because there I learned how wonderful the world of music is! Your passion for music was truly exemplary, and your knowledge was exceptionally genius and extensive. The world will never forget the contributions you have made, and history will always feature your accomplishments. I am very honored that I have had the privilege to study and work under your supervision, and I will do my best to make you happy and proud. You have been the most incredible teacher, mentor, and supervisor I could ever have. You will always be my inspiration as a composer and my role model as a human. You and your family have been like my own father and family during the difficult time I could not see them. My family and I will always be grateful for the unlimited support of you and your family. You are very missed, and I feel very lonely already, but you and your music will be with me in my heart forever. I extend my kindest thoughts and deepest sympathy to dear Ms. Judy, Lenna, and the Constantinides family for peace, patience, and comfort.  Please join us TOMORROW, July 7, at 3:00PM — 4:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) for an online video stream “Composer Spotlight: Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program - Part 2” featuring Toulmin composers Julia Adolphe, Cindy Cox, Stacy Garrop, and myself. It will be a discussion moderated by Melissa Ngan and Meghan Martineau on the composers’ Toulmin commissions and behind-the-scenes of their activities/collaborations with the American Composers Orchestra, League of American Orchestras, and orchestras. Registration is free and open to the public. "July 7, 3pm EST, hear the works and stories of composers Niloufar Iravani, Stacy Garrop, Cindy Cox, and Julia Adolphe in our Part 2 of our Composer Spotlight: Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program. ACO's Melissa Ngan and LA Phil's Meghan Martineau moderate. Register here: https://buff.ly/3h2qcZA"~Facebook post by American Composers Orchestra  I look forward to the event TOMORROW, July 7, at 3:00PM — 4:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)! "Central to its values of diversity, disruption, and discovery, American Composers Orchestra partners each year with orchestras nationwide through its EarShot program (formerly the New Music Readings), which has identified and championed some of the most important rising compositional voices in the orchestral field since its founding in 1991. To deepen the creative community around this work, the Virginia B. Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program (formerly the Women Composers Readings and Commissions Program), an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with ACO, has commissioned three EarShot alumni each year to write a new orchestral work that is premiered by participating orchestras across the country. Whether you are looking to discover composers new to you for your orchestra’s programming, or simply share the boundless curiosity that comes with the discovery of new work, this series highlights four composers on each panel on June 23 and July 7, whose pieces have been recently premiered, or will soon premiere, as part of the program. Get to know each artist, hear recordings of their music, and catch an inside look into the relationships they’ve built with the orchestras that will premiere their works. Featured composers, works, orchestras, and moderators are included below. July 7, 2021 Moderators Melissa Ngan, President & CEO, American Composers Orchestra Meghan Martineau, Vice President, Artistic Planning, Los Angeles Philharmonic Composers, Works & Partner Orchestras Julia Adolphe, Underneath the Sheen, New York Philharmonic Cindy Cox, Transfigurations of Grief, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Stacy Garrop, The Battle for the Ballot, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Niloufar Iravani, The Seven Valleys, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra"~Facebook post by American Composers Orchestra  I am very excited that my work Gift, for Soprano and Piano, will be featured at RISE Concert by Anne Harley (soprano) and Gayle Blankenburg (piano) on May 8! This concert will showcase recently composed works of vocal chamber music in Farsi and English by rising female composers and poets from the Iranian diaspora. I can't wait to listen to my work and works by my fellow Iranian composers Aida Shirazi, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Parisa Sabet, Bahar Taheri, as well as a recitation to Shirazi's music, by female poet and playwright Sholeh Wolpé! . . . Our next featured composer is Niloufar Iravani. She is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music who has received many commissions and awards including commissions by the League of American Orchestras (LAO) and the Louisiana Music Teachers Association (LMTA) and awards such as first prize winner of the Southeastern Composers League (SCL) 2018 Philip Slates Memorial Competition. Featured as an emerging composer in American Composers Orchestra (ACO) EarShot 2018 Readings, Iravani has presented her music at numerous festivals and conferences by distinguished artists and ensembles. She has received Bachelor’s in Piano Performance and Master’s in Music Composition from University of Tehran and Master’s and PhD in Music Composition from Louisiana State University. Her piece "Gift" will be featured at the RISE Concert. To find about more about Niloufar, you can visit her website at http://www.niloufariravani.com/ or check out her social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niloufariravanicomposer/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Niloufar.Iravani.Composer/ YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBfPalfWwoXTMwlORseDQCA SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/niloufar-iravani-25311482 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niloufar-iravani-ph-d-57272b95/  Good luck, Andrew Hosler (https://andrewhosler.com/)! It’ll be a wonderful recital! I am very glad that my work Vision is part of this fabulous event Vision: A First Year Masters Recital! Tonight at 8:00 PM EST!  Many thanks to Andrew Hosler (https://andrewhosler.com) for performing my work at the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) on March 18, 2021! Very grateful for this performance and excited for his upcoming album "data waves"! Please find more info at https://andrewhosler.com/deltawaves!  I am thrilled to announce that I have been selected as one of the finalists of the String Quartet Smackdown by the Golden Hornet for a second time! My first experience was String Quartet Smackdown V and now I am ready for String Quartet Smackdown VII on March 27 at 7 PM! Tickets are available at ondemand.drafthouse.com/.../string-quart.../! Fingers crossed!  Congratulations to Andrew Hosler (andrewhosler.com) on his upcoming solo album titled delta waves featuring eleven 21st century works for tenor saxophone, including my work Vision! Please check out his Kickstarter page to find more information and support this excellent project! www.kickstarter.com/projects/andrewhosler/delta-waves-an-album-by-andrew-hosler?ref=project_build&fbclid=IwAR3RRsrKYUj9rDF7IrgqAX1xWnKaqmnklcO9khkv9KqMty-sCShTePHoqIs  Excited that I have been featured as one of the 21 people in the classical music field who have shared their thoughts with the Symphony Magazine, the League of American Orchestras’ award-winning magazine, on "what's next for orchestras" in 2021! "2020 was a year like no other: the pandemic, America’s long-overdue reckoning with race, financial downturns, starkly divided politics. Facing COVID-19 shutdowns and stringent health regulations, orchestras found innovative ways to keep the music playing—even while reexamining their roles in a changing society. As we head into a new year, 21 people in the classical music field share their thoughts on what’s next for 2021." americanorchestras.org/images/stories/symphony_magazine/Winter_2021/Whats-Next-for-Orchestras.pdf?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=iravani.music%40gmail.com&utm_content=SYMP%20Winter%202021%20Symphony%20email%20to%20members&utm_campaign=Read%20the%20Winter%20Issue%20of%20Symphony%20magazine&fbclid=IwAR1UOCy4LcIpl5XDSNAtf04Uynhtd_YsZ0kwlPcYiP2sl22O7uplZ9SSXpc  HAPPY YALDA! Check out the Yalda Electroacoustic Music Marathon Vol.1 on the YouTube channel of Spectro Centre for New Music (spectrocentre.com/) to listen to my electroacoustic work, Seven, among seventeen compositions written by Iranian composers! I am very excited that my electroacoustic work, Seven, will be featured at Yalda Electroacoustic Music Marathon Vol.1 on the YouTube channel of Spectro Centre for New Music on December 21, 2020, starting at 10:02 UCT time, and available for replay for the span of 24 hours! Stay tuned, y’all! ... spectrocentre.com/ "We are pleased to announce the online Yalda Electroacoustic Music Marathon Vol.1! In this special event, seventeen compositions written by Iranian composers were selected for the online presentation. You will hear the music of Siavash Jafari, Arshia Samsaminia, Peyman Salehyan, Ali Baliqi, Niloufar Iravani, Anahita Abbasi, Sepehr Karbassian, Aida Shirazi, Arshan Najafi, Mohammad Sahebzamani/Danial Derakhshan, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi, Parsa Shomali, Arsalan Abedian, Sohrab Motabar, Idin Samimi Mofakham, and Martyna Kosecka. Yalda Electroacoustic Music Marathon Vol.1 will be presented through YouTube on 21 December 2020, starting at 10:02 UCT time, and available for replay for the span of 24 hours, which enables you to access it during the whole duration of Yalda Night among different time zones. This event's link will be presented shortly on social media channels by Spectro Centre for New Music!"  An exceptionally beautiful and masterful performance of my work for solo trumpet Transformation by the virtuoso trumpet player Dr. Matthew Swihart, Professor at Nicholls State University. It is truly my honor to have the opportunity to collaborate with such an outstanding musician! I cannot wait for future projects and collaborations. Transformation, for Solo Trumpet, was commissioned by Hollyn Slykhuis at Louisiana State University. It presents a variety of motives in three sections of Passionate, Dramatic, and Lyrical. The first two sections highlight center tones of D, G, and Ab and the octatonic collection. The octatonic collection features various transposition properties and is intentionally used to illustrate transformation as a psychological concept. In psychology, transformation refers to a major change in an individual's thoughts or behavior patterns. The third section is inspired by the Transformation section in the third movement of the composer’s orchestral work Phoenix which reflects the rebirth of the legendary bird Phoenix after it burns itself to come to a new life. The work was premiered by the virtuoso trumpet player Dr. Matthew Swihart, Professor at Nicholls State University, in Thibodaux, LA. It is now live! Check out episode 10 of Sounds of the World Podcast! Anahita Abbasi and I had so much fun talking to William Montgomery - composer and Hillary Lester on topics such as being an Iranian female composer in the U.S., the influence of Iranian heritage on our music, and the activities of Iranian Female Composers Association - IFCA. https://redcircle.com/shows/sounds-of-the-world... Subscribe and listen to this excellent podcast to explore a musical journey around the world! The upcoming concert featuring the music of Dinos Constantinides, Niloufar Iravani, Kevin George, and Aaron Gonzalez Hernandez by Constanta Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Gheorghe Costin on October 23, 2020, in Constanta, Romania. I am very honored to be part of a concert in celebration of the music of the acclaimed composer and my wonderful teacher Dinos Constantinides by Constanta Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Gheorghe Costin on October 23, 2020, in Constanta, Romania. The first three movements of my orchestral work "The Seven Valley" along with works by Dinos Constantinides (Preludes for string orchestra, Symphony No. 8, Concerto No. 2 for violin and orchestra, China II – Beijing – for string orchestra, and Dedications for orchestra), Kevin George (Dancing Shadows for chamber orchestra), and Aaron Gonzalez Hernandez (Siluapili) will be performed. I cannot wait!  Excited to see that a couple of my works have been featured in the 2020 NACUSA COMPOSERS YouTube playlist representing the music of members of the National Association of Composers USA. #1 Energetic - Movement I of The Maze, for String Quartet, performed by Invoke String Quartet #175 The Midnight, for Solo Piano, performed by Amalia Sagona #177 Insomnia, for solo cello, performed by Paul Christopher #185 Dream, Illusion, Reality, for Solo Violin, performed by Aaron Farrell https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeDFDR4mLe9ekJsfmc9MrLsz4aU_lg3Ti  I would like to invite you to listen to a brilliant recording of my work Transformation for solo trumpet by Dr. Matthew Swihart, an exceptional musician and faculty at Nicholls State University. I am more than honored to have this fantastic recording featuring excellent musicality and sonority. Congratulations and thank you, Dr. Swihart! I look forward to future collaborations! https://soundcloud.com/niloufar-iravani-25311482/transformation-for-solo-trumpet-niloufar-iravani  Congratulations to IFCA composers and performers for a wonderful YouTube concert. Many thanks to Roya Farzaneh for a great performance of my work for solo flute, Fusion! I am very honored to be part of the brilliant conductor Anna Edwards’s wonderful project “100 Days of Social Distance Listening” introducing 100 underrepresented composers! Many thanks to Dr. Edwards for this fantastic opportunity and looking forward to future projects and collaborations. www.annaedwardsconductor.com/  Please join us TOMORROW, July 24, for a YouTube concert of works by Iranian Female Composers Association - IFCA composers and musicians. I am very excited to be one of the featured composers with my work Fusion, for solo flute, performed by the talented flutist Roya Farzaneh. Thanks to IFCA for planning this wonderful program. Tune in at 1:30 pm EDT, 10:30 am PDT, 10:00 pm IRDT, and 6 pm CET to listen to my work and works by my brilliant colleagues and friends! The YouTube link will be soon available on IFCA’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  I am thrilled to share with you all the excellent news that I will receive an orchestral commission of $15,000 as part of the Women Composers Readings and Commissions program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras, in partnership with American Composers Orchestra and supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. This program is embedded in EarShot, an initiative of American Composers Orchestra in collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. I look forward to working with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and its wonderful music director Delta David Gier. Many thanks to James Barry and other professionals at League of American Orchestras and American Composers Orchestra for their support. americanorchestras.org/conducting-artistic-programs/women-composer-readings-and-commissions.html?fbclid=IwAR12NZcsA9vZCpzXLLjEoNL-4h9gVrl6q138Tt7Vx634ZXit6er4r3kHn8U  I would like to invite you all to check out an excellent performance of my work Insomnia for solo cello by an exceptional musician and cellist Professor Paul Christopher. This virtuosic performance features a unique presentation of sound, color, texture, expression, and musicality. I am extremely honored for this brilliant performance recorded by Dr. Masahito Kuroda at Magale Recital Hall at Northwestern State University of Louisiana on June 23, 2020. Many thanks for bringing such a beautiful life into Insomnia, Professor Paul Christopher. I cannot wait for future projects and collaborations. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfrvW-nzMKo  Ph.D. Dissertation successfully defended on April 29, 2020! I would like to acknowledge the limitless and constant support of Dr. Dinos Constantinides, Major Advisor and Committee Chair, during every step of the entire degree program. I also appreciate the endless guidance of Dr. Jeffrey Perry, Minor Advisor and Committee Member, and kind support and encouragement of Dr. Griffin Campbell, Committee Member; Dr. Jonathan Earle, the Dean’s Representative; and Dr. Joseph Skillen, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Music and Theatre. Special thanks are extended to LSU School of Music for being a sweet home to me for almost five years and to all my teachers, past and present, who helped me reach this milestone. A very special note of thank you to my family and friends for their unconditional love and continuous inspiration.  There is no doubt that the current worldwide uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic has been a warning sent by our planet earth to make us stop the ignorance. It is simply a message to invite us to reconsider our environmental outlook and behavior and develop our endeavors to protect the one and only Mother Nature. I hereby invite you to the Earth Day Art Model, an international telematic festival held in recognition of the International Earth Day by the Donald Louis Tavel Arts and Technology Research at the Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis. The event will begin on April 22 at UTC midnight (April 21 at EST 8 pm/CDT 7 pm) spanning 24 hours. There are over 100 performers presenting telematics, fixed media of all kinds, and commentary. The entire festival is online through the streaming website below, free to the public. earthdayartmodel.org/index.php I am more than honored that my fixed Media work Seven is part of this fantastic festival and will be featured among many great works all concerning the theme of the festival “living with the earth”. Live stream tonight from 10:37 pm to 10:46 pm.  It was a pleasure to spend the weekend at the 2020 Darkwater Women In Music at UNC Pembroke to listen to some great music and meet excellent musicians and scholars. I have been selected as the third prize winner of the composition competition. I would like to thank my wonderful performers Jillian Storey Storey, flute, and Andrea Tiffany, clarinet, for learning my work Perceptions so accurately and performing it so beautifully. I would also like to thank Sarah Busman, Professor of Flute at UNCP and Founder of the Darkwater Women in Music Festival, for the opportunity and the organization of this wonderful festival. |
