{"id":113934,"date":"2025-04-29T15:45:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T19:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=113934"},"modified":"2025-04-30T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T12:00:01","slug":"interview-composer-conductor-kaveh-mirhosseini-executive-director-saba-yousefi-talk-jam-orchestras-may-11-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/04\/29\/interview-composer-conductor-kaveh-mirhosseini-executive-director-saba-yousefi-talk-jam-orchestras-may-11-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Composer\/Conductor Kaveh Mirhosseini &amp; Executive Director Saba Yousefi Talk About JAM Orchestra\u2019s May 11 Concert"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_113936\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113936\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-113936\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-7.jpg\" alt=\"The JAM Orchestra, conducted by Kaveh Mirhosseini performs at the University of Toronto Walter Hall in January 2025 (Photo courtesy of JAM Orchestra) \" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-7.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-7-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-7-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-7-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113936\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The JAM Orchestra, conducted by Kaveh Mirhosseini performs at the University of Toronto Walter Hall in January 2025 (Photo courtesy of JAM Orchestra)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After a well received performance at the University of Toronto New Music Festival in January, the JAM Orchestra returns to the stage on May 11 to perform works by contemporary Iranian composers. Kaveh Mirhosseini, in a collaboration with the Orchestra, will conduct, including one of his own pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Other pieces on the program include Iranian-Canadian composer and pianist Iman Habibi&#8217;s Beloved of the Sky, along with works by Heshmat Sanjari, Afarin Mansouri, Shahab Paranj, Golfam Khayam, and Reza Vali that blend Iranian and Western influences.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to composer\/conductor Kaveh Mirhosseini and JAM Orchestra Executive Director Saba Yousefi about the concert, and the music.<\/p>\n<p>Kaveh Mirhosseini conducts his composition Allah-May Khani, October 22, 2023 in Tehran, Iran:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uXIih56tMeA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Kaveh Mirhosseini &amp; Saba Yousefi: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>The full program for the concert includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dance of Dayereh by Heshmat Sanjari (Arrangement for Strings by Kaveh Mirhosseini)<\/li>\n<li>Beloved of the Sky by Iman Habibi<\/li>\n<li>Majnoon Naboodam by Afarin Mansouri<\/li>\n<li>Choopi by Shahab Paranj<\/li>\n<li>Simorgh by Golfam Khayam<\/li>\n<li>Funebre by Reza Vali<\/li>\n<li>Folk Songs by Reza Vali (Arrangement for Strings by Kaveh Mirhosseini)<\/li>\n<li>Baba Karam by Kaveh Mirhosseini<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Persian music is rooted in tradition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Persian contemporary music tries to describe the heritage and culture,\u201d explains Mirhosseini. He chose the music on the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we are trying to showcase our heritage,\u201d adds Saba. \u201cEach piece has been selected carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The goal is also to connect Western and Eastern cultures. Traditional Iranian music, Kaveh explains, is a product of a multicultural society that consists of many different tribes and peoples.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s vast and diverse,\u201d Saba says.<\/p>\n<p>The orchestra itself is diverse. The ensemble consists of a string orchestra with piano, percussion, and Iranian-Canadian soprano Saina Alikhani, who\u2019s currently studying at McGill University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole purpose of this orchestra is to have a multicultural orchestra,\u201d Kaveh adds. Those not already familiar learned to perform Persian intervals (based on quarter-tones) in a contemporary music context. For the occasion in January, the ensemble invited composers such as Shahab Paranj, of UCLA, and Reza Vali, a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University<\/p>\n<p>Iman Habibi, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2022\/08\/26\/feature-checking-azrieli-music-prize-laureates-rita-ueda-iman-habibi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Azrieli Prize laureate<\/a>, has become a friend of the ensemble.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[He\u2019s] a great Canadian composer,\u201d Kaveh says, adding that their collaborations will continue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have two women composers,\u201d Saba points out.<\/p>\n<p>They include Golfam Khayam, an Iranian whose star is rising in Europe. Her works have been performed by Barbara Hannigan, Orchestre de la Radio France, ICE ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Stephan Schmidt (Basel), Ivan Podyomov (principle Oboist of Concertgebouw), and many others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has become really famous over the last couple of years,\u201d Saba says.<\/p>\n<p>Toronto-based Dr. Afarin Mansouri is also represented in the program with her piece Majnoon Naboodam. Mansouri is the guiding force behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/03\/28\/scoop-tapestry-opera-announcing-artist-residencies-operaq-cultureland-culturelands-quest-april-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cultureland Opera Collective<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The late Heshmat Sanjari&#8217;s piece Dance of Dayereh was written for percussion (performed by soloist Farzad Khorshid-savar), and an arrangement for strings by Kaveh.<\/p>\n<p>Mirhosseini\u2019s own piece Baba Karam was given its world premiere at the University of Toronto New Music Festival in January.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s one of the most important festivals in Canada,\u201d he says. Kaveh was invited to create an ensemble for the occasion, an Iranian music night. The diverse audience was appreciative. \u201cThey really connected to the Iranian music,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>Baba Karam is a type of Iranian dance that is typically performed at celebrations, representing a cultural character. The dance portrays a certain group of Iranian men who were well known in the 19th and 20th centuries, and were characterized by a kind of urban rough and tumble code of ethics. They stood up for the poor and weak, and prized qualities such as generosity and self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n<p>The Baba Karam song, and original story, date back to the Qajar dynasty, from 1794 to 1925. While there are several variations today, it tends to revolve around a man and his love for a woman.<\/p>\n<p>Kaveh created an animated short that is shown during the performance of the piece.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach Iranian knows this piece and this history,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me, surprisingly, the non-Iranian audience liked this.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Sharing Cultures<\/h3>\n<p>Both see the orchestra as having a kind of mission. \u201cIt&#8217;s really important for us to expand Iranian music here,\u201d Kaveh says. He talks of creating a cultural bridge between Iran and Canada, and he notes that that orchestra members themselves represent Canadian diversity, including both Jewish and Muslim members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to collaborate with Canadian composers,\u201d he adds, noting that previous collaborators have included composer Christos Hatzis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur country, Iran, means multicultural. Canada is multicultural.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find tickets and other details about the May 11 performance at Grace Church on-the-Hill [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.ca\/e\/jam-orchestra-concert-tickets-1318850309779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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