Rouhollah Khaleghi Artistic Center established in Washington DC

Golnoush Khaleghi (1941-2021), a Washington-based Persian musician and the daughter of the contemporary Persian (Iranian) composer and theoretician Rouhollah Khaleghi (1906-1965) founded a musical center called RKAC to keep the name and the work of her father alive.

Rouhollah Khaleghi founded Persian National Music Conservatory [Honarestaan-e Musighi-e Melli) in 1949 in Tehran. He was the chief editor of Chang and Payaam-e Novin magazines and conducted the Tehran’s Radio “Gol-ha Orchestra” for several years. Among his most famous theoretical works are a three volume book entitled “History of the Persian Music” [Sargozasht-e Musighi-e Iran] and the popular anthem-like song ‘O Persia’ [Ey Iran] .

Graduated from Tehran Conservatory and Wisconsin University, Golnoush Khaleghi conducted the National Iranian Radio and TV’s Choir called “Ham-Avaazaan” from 1974 to 1978. After the 1979 revolution, she immigrated to America and together with 25 Persian and American musicians, she founded an orchestra under the name of her father in 1985. In addition to the performance of works by Rouhollah Khaleghi, this orchestra performed pieces by other famous Persian (Iranian) composer such as Alinaghi Vaziri, Morteza Mahjoubi and Hossein Dehla! vi in New York and Washington DC until 1990 when it had to stop its activity due to the lack of financial support from cultural institutes (whether Persian or American).

Apparently, Rouhollah Khaleghi had told his daughter before his death that ‘I aspire to enter a musical hall outside Persia one day and see that they are performing Persian music that is arranged in such a way to make it enjoyable even for non-Persian audience.’ According to Golnoush Khaleghi, her second motivation to establish the above orchestra was ‘to perform Persian Music during the time when musical activities came to an almost standstill in Iran due to religious limitations.’

Foundation of RKCA [Rouhollah Khaleghi Artistic Center] in fact the revival of the same organization that was active only in the form of a chamber orchestra.

The establishment of a website on the artistic activities and works of Rouhollah Khaleghi is one of the major activities of RKAC. Reproduction of his works on CDs, performance of concerts and offering scholarship to talented Persian (Iranian) students to study Music are among other activities of this center. In addition to introduction of R. Khaleghi’s works, the other major goal of RKAC is to encourage Persian youth to study music, particularly those who live abroad and are therefore unfamiliar with Persian culture.

***

HarmonyTalk

Golnoush Khaleghi published two books entitled Ey Iran: Memorial volume of Ruhollah Khaleghi (Mahoor Institute Publications, 2006) and Rouhollah Khaleghi’s Compositions & Arrangements (Mahoor Institute Publications, 2019) in Iran. She also published R. Khaleghi’s sheet music collection with Roudaki and Nogan publications.

 

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Bahma Rajabi Passed Away!

Bahman Rajabi, the renowned tonbak (Persian goblet drum) player and educator, passed away at his home at the age of 86 due to a heart condition. He was the founder of a distinctive school of tonbak playing, and his teaching methods have been widely used by instructors of the instrument for decades..

Reza Vohdani; Unveiling unpublished works, preservation of Iranian classical music

Reza Vohdani is a renowned name among tar (traditional Iranian instrument) players, especially within the Iranian music community that values the meticulous practice and teaching of traditional music. While Vohdani honed his skills in music theory and tar playing under the guidance of masters like Ali-Naghi Vaziri, Ali-Akbar Shahnazi, Hossein Dehlavi, and Ahmad Forutan-Rad, it is his unwavering dedication to studying, documenting, and teaching the Iranian classical music repertoire that has solidified his prominence in the field. Recently, Vohdani’s family decided to make his preserved works accessible to the wider art and music community. In this regard, The Persian-language newspaper ‘Iran’ spoke with Sadjad Pourghanad, a musician, university instructor, and music researcher, who shared his opinion into the project, as detailed in the interview below.

From Past Days…

The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (III)

“Our ancestors believe powerful blows upon the Daf scatters evil spirits of disease and distress to create a clean and holy space filled with health and prosperity. Adding tools to Daf increases this instrument’s purification, spreading, and summoning powers of evil forces and goddesses. Daf was mostly depicted by red, color of blood, in ancient times or sometimes it was depicted with green, the color of plants and nature. There were probably some mysterious designs painted upon the wooden body and frames of these instruments just like today” (Pahlavan, 2013: 44).

Violin’s inner mold, an essential factor in developing the idea of violin

A part of the secrets of the masterpieces from the golden era lies in the special design of the instruments, as a result of a profound insight to and awareness of the significance of the precise calculation of the various components of the object of arts being created, such as making a violin or a bow.

Timeless or Timely: The Role of Historical Context in Defining Artistic Value

Imagine that, in the course of historical research, we discover a musical piece whose compositional techniques (including form, melody, texture, and orchestration) resemble those of a second-rate 19th-century composition. But further investigation reveals that this work predates that period by 200 years. Can we still deem it insignificant? Certainly not. Here, the first major role of historical judgment becomes evident.

A combination of technique and musicality in the fingers of a pianist

In the world of classical music, the position of soloist has always been exceptional. Apart from the technical ability that many orchestral musicians also have, the soloist must also have a special power to be able to present a different and unique perspective of a piece. The soloist must maintain its special power of expression not only in solo roles but also when interacting with the orchestra.

Three singers in one larynx

Sima Bina (b. 1945) is a unique singer among the singers of Golha radio programmes which were broadcast on Iranian National Radio for 23 years from 1956 to 1979. She received her first lessons in music from her father who was a poet, a musician and the most important supporter of Sima’s cultural activities.

Developments in Iranian Music Since Qajar Era (I)

At the end of the Qajar era and as Iran entered the power transition period, known as the constitutional era, the Iranian music went through a lot of changes. These changes gained momentum as the students and followers of Ali Naqi Vaziri’s entered the musical scene. These changes greatly influenced designs of instruments, playing methods, singing, composing, etc.

Principles of Playing Violin (IV)

Principles of Playing Violin (IV)

Pattern No.3/1 Left hand finger Placement: 3/1/1: Landing Fingers on one String: In preliminary stages of training, an apprentice should pay attention to the principle of keeping fingers while placing them on the fingerboard. Professional violinists pay less attention to this principle. Novice player’s complying with this principle, in preliminary stages of training, has several…
Read More »

Principles of Violin Playing (IX)

4.3.1. To practice playing of doubles of notes involving two different fingers, each note is played at separate bows with slow tempo, each note is played perfectly regarding its bass and tenor sounds and then the considered double is played at another bow while considering the resulted sound of the double.

Tehran Flute Choir Established

Tehran Flute Choir was established in 1394 (late 2015) by Firouzeh Navai. Tehran Flute Choir, Iran’s first largest flute choir, recruited its members mostly from young talented flutists of Iranian Flute Association. Featuring piccolo, flute, alto flute and bass flute, Tehran Flute Choir, directed by Firouzeh Navai, premiered under the batons of Saeed Taghadosi on January 7-8, 2016 at Roudaki Hall in Tehran.

Parviz Meshkatian’s Heart Beat for People (I)

Amidst the popularity of traditionalism in the Iranian music, Parviz Meshkatian (1955- 2009) moved from Neyshabur to Tehran. He learnt to play Santour and became educated in the Radif of Iranian music at the Centre for Preservation and Promotion of Music which was at the forefront of promoting the return to musical traditions. Despite his studies at a centre which promoted the use of the phrase “traditional music” in Iran, Parviz Meshkatian emerged as a creative artist whose innovative and unique ideas attracted the admiration of Iranian artists and people from different walks of life. This article studies the reason behind Meshkatian’s deviation from the wrong approach of traditionalism strongly promoted by the Centre and argues that apart from the issue of theory of Iranian music, he can be considered as Ali Naqi Vaziri’s successor.