He was only a year old at the start of the Iranian Revolution.
But 37 year old composer, pianist and conductor Hooshyar Khayam is making history as the first Iranian composer since 1979, living in Iran, to be commissioned by an American orchestra. And not just any orchestra: Duluth's Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra and its artistic director, Warren Friesen.
Hooshyar's new work, Kalileh, features not only the orchestra but the Lake Superior Youth Chorus and the Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe. And its origins make for a quirky story of a transcontinental friendship and mutual admiration society sparked by a video on YouTube.
You can watch and listen to Hooshyar's performance of "Stained Glass" here from a recording he made in 2012. Then you can hear the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra's performance of the piece in July of last year, with Jeanne Doty, piano soloist; Warren Friesen, conductor; and video art by Ben Harvey.
Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving, it doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come. ~ 13th century Persian poet Rumi
