Meet euro-persian ensembles
Table of Contents:
1. Euro-Persian Art Ensemble
2. Euro-Persian Pop Band
Music style and music program
Euro-Persian Art Ensemble
Within this organization, we have gathered together a group of high-quality international musicians, which make up the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble (Euro-Persian Ensemble). Our group is composed of award-winning soloists from prestigious European orchestras.
The instrumentation setting of the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble consists of both modern western classical instruments alongside traditional Persian instruments with vocals. This combination provides uniqueness and cultural richness to our concerts. This instrumental setting gives an extra charm and color that fabricates a new experience within the realm of classical music. The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble is NOT a world music ensemble, neither is it a fusion or a traditional Persian ensemble, rather we aim to provide a unique contribution to the classical world.
Music style and music program:
The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble plays well-known existing western classical music, alongside new compositions and new arrangements. We combine western classical music with authentic traditional Persian music. Depending on our audience or a particular event we might also perform old Persian songs that are nostalgic for Persian people who live in the diaspora.
Our repertoire ranges from the late baroque to the 21st century.
Innovation & Heritage:
This combination of western classical music and contemporary classical music alongside traditional Persian musical elements and Persian traditional instruments will open many new possibilities and experiences. Including new instrumentations, new colors, new harmonies, new counterpoints, and new sounds!
We encourage our composers (artists in residence) to use Persian quarter tones and Dastgāh/Maqam/Mayeh for new compositions and new arrangements to create new harmonies, new counterpoints, new instrumentations, and new orchestrations. We encourage our composers (artists in residence) to write music that showcases the best that western and Persian traditions have to offer.
Pre-Islamic Persia has always been a common source of inspiration and cultural similarity in Europa and Persia, and we encourage our composers to write as engineers building bridges between different parts of the world.
As a result, the prosperity of new techniques in composition and performance will arise progressively in both cultures.
Finally, it will have a positive influence on our music education system and raise awareness in our society about both cultures.
Since the 1900s, many western contemporary composers (like Wim Henderckix) have included characteristics of both Persian and European musical elements including Persian intervals and Dastgāh/Maqam/Mayeh in their compositions.
It will undoubtedly take many years before musical education, instrumentation, and western society will adopt these wonderful Persian musical elements such as unique intervals, Dastgāh/Maqam/Mayeh, and Gosheh, into their own musical languages and integrate them into the norm. Eventually, this could become part of the European cultural heritage, the heritage that is deeply rooted to our ancestors.
Since we use different elements including music, history, and literature of both cultures, this cultural exchange will innovate and open many new possibilities in both Persian and western classical/art music (and in the education system).
Quality of the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble:
The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble consists of several international musicians of the highest quality. A primary example is our concertmaster Sarah Oates who is our associate concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra in London. She is a sought-after guest with other world-class orchestras.
Other musicians of our ensemble perform as soloists and principal musicians in well-known high-quality orchestras around the world.
Our soprano singer Nazanin Ezazi and our mezzo-soprano Ariana Vafadari sing in Persian and multiple European languages. Both of them have international careers as solo opera singers.
Artists in residence/composers/arrangers:
Our team consists of top-notch well-known international composers such as:
Alain Craens
Houman Khalaj
Mathias Coppens
Richard Danielpour
You may find extensive biographies about the quality of the musicians, singers, and composers of the Euro-Persian Art Organization, on the ARTISTS’ page on our website.
General Idea:
We have a unique idea to create a cultural liaison between western and pre-Islamic Persian cultural heritage with a primary focus on music that can be described as a bridge between the past and the present. Contemporary creations with the past as a source of inspiration stand alongside innovation, education, and music performance. In addition, We want to give a unique and fresh interpretation to the concept of modern western classical music, and contemporary art music. This intends to create a space for the possibility to combine western and Persian music elements and instruments together with literature, poetry, education, arts, history, conferences, musical performances, lecture recitals, concerts, and professional music services.
The orchestra gives talented young Belgian composers the opportunity to write new pieces for the ensemble under the supervision of a renowned composer. In addition to its ongoing cycle of concerts, the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble of Belgium also has a social mission. Focusing on the partnerships with the Community and with Kids, the Orchestra fulfills its obligation to bring underprivileged groups and children into contact with each other.
Women’s rights:
In Iran, after the Islamic revolution in the late ’70s, the female solo voice was forbidden in performance. In the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble, we would like to give Persian women the opportunity to perform again and revive the beauties of this suppressed art form. In the pre-islamic Zoroastrian period, women enjoyed equal rights with men and often rose to leadership positions within society, the military, and the arts. We would like to revive Persian women’s voices once more through our art.
Diversity & Education:
The ensemble fulfills its obligation to bring together diverse groups including, our professional international musicians, students, professors, artists, historians, children, and parents into contact with each other. The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble shares the stage with professional, semi-professional, amateur orchestras or choirs as well as children’s choirs for Educational purposes. This is achieved through partnerships with the community and through collaboration or co-production with other organizations within Belgium, Europe, and the USA. In addition, by organizing international master classes for young composers and musicians working with music universities.
By including a children’s choir in the project, we will inspire an increased tolerance in our multicultural society, opening the children's vision to the larger perspective of the world and how important a cultural exchange can be. Performing and singing together in a choir develops self-respect and respect for others. Foreign-language newcomers and young refugees can perform together with well-known artists. As a result, they will become familiar with other languages. They will become more familiar with professional music and it will feed their inspiration. This will encourage artistic initiatives that give young people a chance to grow and express themselves. Integration plays a valuable role in our project, especially for Persian people in European and American society, which also offers interaction between generations. The parents of different generations will come to our concerts and learn about western and Persian culture, music, literature, social involvement, and the involvement of young people in society. We hope this initiative will provide an added value to the lives of these young people. They will become more familiar with other cultures, and they will learn to respect other cultures and arts, and ultimately people. They will feel the music, history, art, poetry, and literatures of Persia, Europe, and the USA as part of their own culture.
The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble works on a project basis. The ensemble consists of a mix of professional musicians and singers with diverse international backgrounds, and offers conservatory students instrumental and singing a bridge to a professional career.
Instrumental setting of Euro-Persian Art Ensemble:
Flute/Picolo /Alt Flute, Ney
Oboe/English Horn
Clarinet in Bb
Bassoon
Soprano (Persian, EN, DE, FR, IT)
Violin1
Violin2
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Tombak/Daf (Persian Percussions)
Tar/Setar (Persian instruments)
Santour (Persian instrument)
Kamancheh (Persian instrument)
Flexibility and Size:
The Euro-Persian Art ensemble can perform alone or in combination with a professional symphonic/philharmonic orchestra, professional choir, or even with an amateur children’s choir. Through partnerships with the other ensembles, orchestras, music universities, and organizations there is always an option to extend this ensemble to a full Symphonic Orchestra of around 110 musicians and a large choir! The Euro-Persian Art Ensemble can also consist of a few musicians, for example, with 4 up to 6 musicians instead of 14 musicians. For some projects, we may only work with western instrumental settings or only traditional Persian instrumental settings. The flexibility and size of our ensembles allow us to offer you a variety of different services.
Euro-Persian Pop Band
With the same concept in mind and general idea as we explained above about the Euro-Persian Art Ensemble, We also gathered a separate group that contains high-quality international pop musicians together under the name of the Euro-Persian Pop Band (Euro-Persian Band).
Music style and music program:
Here we perform a combination of Pop music, light music, world music, and fusion. The instrumental settings of the Euro-Persian PopBand are very flexible, depending on the music event and project. Our pop band repertoire is more international, ranging from well-known American to European pop songs, and depending on our audience or a particular event we might perform different music programs including Persian pop songs that are nostalgic for Persian people who live in the diaspora. Western pop music alongside traditional Persian musical elements and instruments will open many new possibilities, colors, sounds, and experiences.
Booking
The flexibility and size of our ensembles allow us to offer you a variety of different services. Perhaps you are looking for an intimate homely in-house concert for your employees or a relaxed event for stakeholders, we will proudly send three or four of our best musicians to give you a private concert.
1- Booking Euro-Persian Ensembles for your event:
You may book either the Euro-Persian Art ensemble or the Euro-Persian Pop Band for your luxury event as a person or legal entity, concert hall, company, organization, for the following projects and events, we can create an unforgettable musical experience for you and your guests. There is no end to the possibilities in your venues or events.
Concert
Network events
Gala Nights or concert
Product launches or exhibition shows
Lunch & dinner concert In the company, organizations
Exhibitions show for the products of your company
Private Concert or exclusive party
Balls
Recitals
Lectures
Conferences or international congresses
Fashion shows
Private receptions
Funeral
Just imagine by inviting our high-quality ensemble into your event, you add value and high-class quality to your prestigious to your event!
2- Booking Euro-Persian Ensembles for a recording session (CD or DVD):
Do you want to book Euro-Persian Ensemble or Band to record a CD, DVD? This option is interesting for Composers, Film producers, Organizations, Companies, and Recording Studios. You may book either of our ensembles or a combination of both ensembles for a recording session (CD or DVD) in different styles and music genres:
Classical music
Contemporary music
Pop music
Film music*
Light music*
Fusion music*
World music*
*Combining the historical (traditional Persian instruments) with the contemporary western classical instruments can really make your recording stand out. If you are really looking for something very special, then you may want to have this combination, mixing both ensembles is an ideal option for film music, Fusion music, and world music.
3- Booking Euro-Persian Ensembles for concert tour:
Are you an American, Canadian, or Australian artist? are you planning to have a live performing concert tour in Europa? Especially for singers or soloist musicians who wish to give a concert tour in Europa without bringing their entire Band or ensemble/orchestra to Europa. Then, This is a perfect solution for you! Your benefits are as follows:
You avoid the costs of airplane tickets for musicians and their instruments which you need to purchase an additional ticket for.
You avoid the costs of hotels for your group of musicians.
You avoid food and drink costs for your entire group.
You avoid insurance costs for instruments and your musicians.
You will build up a new artistic connection and network with some high-quality European musicians, which itself is a new experience for you and it might open up new possibilities in the future for your artistic career.
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