| |
|
|
The Nowruz Project
Door
Dog Music Productions
Chingiz Sadykhov
Traditional
Arts, June 2005
October
2, 2005, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Azerbaijani pianist Chingiz Sadykhov collaborated with Afghani,
Iranian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Persian, Chinese, Cretan, and Assyrian
master artists and Door Dog Music Productions to create Nowruz:
An Evening of Rebirth, a program combining traditional and newly
composed music with poetry, dance, and film. The Nowruz Project
was presented at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco
on October 2, 2005, serving as the centerpiece for the annual World
Music Festival, produced by Door Dog Music Productions.
With Mr. Sadykhov, who performed vocals and on piano, the collaboration
featured filmmaker Nizamettin Aric, poet Mustafa
Kart, dancers Koma
Gowend, and musicians Imamyar Hasanov (Azerbaijani kamancheh),
Rufat Hasanov (Azerbaijani tar), Aziz
Herawi (Afghani rabab),
Pejman Hadadi (Persian percussion), Hossein
Omoumi (Persian ney and
vocals), Ashkan Ghafouri (Persian tar), Ozden
Oztoprak (Kurdish tembur and
vocals), Kemal Polat (Kurdish tembur), Wang
Wei (Chinese
percussion), Ross Daly (Cretan lyra and rebab,
and composer), and Kelly Thoma (Cretan lyra).
The binding thread among these artists was observance of the vernal
equinox or Nowruz, whose pre-Islamic origins are embraced
in different ways throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Nowruz means “new
day” and symbolizes the triumph of renewal. Each culture
considers this important holiday to be its own, and each has developed
its own distinctive traditions for celebrating it. Persians
and Kurds welcome Nowruz by jumping over open fires and
setting up displays of seven kinds of foods and articles in their
homes; Azerbaijanis and Afghans prepare special dishes and germinate
seeds symbolizing rebirth; all of the communities have large celebrations
with music and dance.
These diverse cultural traditions and communities had never before
been invited together in a festival environment to celebrate Nowruz. Door
Dog Music Productions’ directors described it as an “international
music experiment and artistic statement for global peace.”
Michael Santoro and Kutay Derin Kugay of Door Dog Music Productions
brought together the participating artists in summer 2005. Through
extended artist residences, they explored common connections among
their ethnic communities and the mainstream. The exchange of
musical ideas intensified in the final two months before the performance,
during which they shaped a suite of seven movements—a mystical
number in the observance of Nowruz—based on thematic
material of several of the traditions represented. The suite’s
themes included rebirth, peace, freedom, and transformation.
At age 75, lead artist Chingiz Sadykhov is a living legend among
Azerbaijani pianists. In his 60 years as a concert pianist,
he has accompanied some of the greatest singers of Azerbaijan and
the Soviet Union. He has garnered the coveted title of “People’s
Artist of Azerbaijan,” and has performed and taught music in
more than 30 countries. Since moving to the United States in
1994, he has performed the Azeri music of his homeland in more than
20 North American cities. Maestro Sadykhov was recognized by the
Azerbaijan Cultural Society in Northern California for his contributions
to the music of his people. He has performed for Nowruz celebrations
in his community for many years.
Door Dog Music Productions is a nonprofit presenting and producing
organization that supports and promotes the diversity of cultures
of the world through the rich music within each culture. Founded
in 1995, Door Dog Music Productions’ mission is to create an
awareness of the diversity of music by presenting the music of people
from various cultures and backgrounds throughout the San Francisco
Bay Area and the world; to make the performers’ music and culture
more accessible; and to cultivate a context in which musicians, students,
educators, and general audiences can foster an understanding of and
appreciation for the music and its associated cultures. The
organization’s main program is the annual San Francisco World
Music Festival. It also presents year round world-music-in-schools
and evening world music concerts.
Biographical notes excerpted from the program for The Sixth
Annual San Francisco World Music Festival, produced by Door Dog
Music Productions
Chingiz Sadykhov
Chingiz Sadykhov was born in 1929 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Of
the course of his musical career, he has performed concerts in 32
countries, including India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan,
Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, England, Yugoslavia, Canada, Czechslovakia,
Germany, Hungary, and Poland. He has performed with renowned
artists from Azerbaijan, including Rashid Behbutov, Bulbul,
Kasimov Sisters, Lutfiyar Imanov, and Muslim Magamayev, as well as
with Russian artists including Atlantov, Ognivtsev, Guvar Gasparyan,
Nani Bregvadze, Menzhelkiyev, and Serkibayev. In March 1994,
he immigrated to the United States, and has since performed in cities
throughout the country.
Selected Recordings
- Piano Music of Azerbaijan, 7/8 Music Productions(2002)
- With Love from Azerbaijan (1999)
- Songs of Azerbaijan, 7/8 Music Productions (1997)
Nizamettin Aric
Kurdish filmmaker, composer, and singer Nizamettin Aric was born
and raised in the Serhat region, a northern area of Turkish Kurdistan,
bordering Iran and Armenia. The region is where the culture
of Dengbej—traditional Kurdish bard music—is the most
intensively cultivated and Aric was exposed to traditional Kurdish
music all his life—playing the saz and ney at
an early age within a family setting. He became a potent symbol
of Kurdish identity when he was imprisoned by the Turkish government
for singing in the Kurdish language in public. Up until that
point, he enjoyed popularity as a vocalist and musician who sang
only in the Turkish language.
Aric now resides in Berlin. His trajectory from the decision
to sing in his own language continued with the filmmaking career
he began in Germany. His “A Song for Beko,” was
one of the first films in the Kurdish language and won 15 international
awards. He scripted “A Song for Beko,” composed
and played its musical score, and starred in it. An artist
of many genres, Aric symbolizes the struggle to resist the forces
of assimilation: He uses his art to convey a fuller picture
of Kurdish life and aspirations. In The Nowruz Project he created
a short film that wove the production together by working with archetypal
symbols of rebirth, renewal, the vernal equinox, and the aspiration
toward change. He worked to envision the participating musicians’ divergent
spiritual, cultural, and political identities and present through
a poetic vision that spanned many different meanings of Nowruz.
Ross Daly
Ross Daly is recognized as one of the greatest composers and performers
of Cretan, Greek, and music from the Mediterranean cultures. He
has lived in Crete for the past 25 years, playing and teaching
at his music school and museum in the Cretan village Houdetsi.
Daly was born in England, of Irish descent and traveled as a child
with his family around the world, developing a deep interest in music. His
first instrument was the cello, which he studied in his childhood
in America. He later began studying classical guitar in Japan
at the age of 11. The late 1960s found him in San Francisco,
where he first encountered Eastern musical traditions, which changed
his life. Of particular interest to Daly was Indian classical
music. In the following years he traveled extensively, studying
a variety of instruments and traditions.
A master multi-instrumentalist, Daly often has teamed with master
musicians from all over the world. He plays the Cretan lyra,
laouto, kemence, sarangi, oud, saz, and tanbur. A
distinctive composer, Daly builds his compositions around the subtle
but powerful textures of the traditions he has studied. The
sound of his music reflects his personal philosophy, which stresses
the sacred nature of music itself, the enormous power contained within
it, and the necessity for those who play to unreservedly and selflessly
give themselves to it. This process results in an experience
of music of a transcendental and spiritual nature.
Ashkan Ghafouri
Ashkan Ghafouri, an Iranian composer and tar player, was
born in 1967 in Tehran, Iran. He studied past and contemporary tar technique
and styles and Persian radif (classical modal system) from
Hooshang Zarif, and the theory of music, harmony, and composition
under direction of Farhad Fakhreddini. Ghafouri is an active member
of Ossein Dehlavi’s Plucked Instrument Orchestra as well as
other ensembles, including Molana, directed by Jalil Andalibi. After
arriving in the United States, Ghafouri refined his technique on
the tar with help of Mohammad Reza Lotfi, and founded the
Tar School in Oakland. He also is founder of the Ney Davood Ensemble,
performing Persian classical and folk music. The group, a Contra
Costa County based ensemble named after Persian traditional musician
Morteza Neydavood, champions one of the great figures of 20th Century
Persian music (who also happens to be Jewish). Gafouri and Hooshang
Zarif are co-authoring a textbook on teaching the Persian radif.
Koma Gowend
The Kurdish dance company Koma Gowend, is based in the San Francisco
Bay Area. Although the number of dancers may vary, their
dedication and hard work is always evident in their performances. They
come from various parts of Northern Kurdistan, and are led by founder
Emin Tekin.
Pejman Hadadi
Pejman Hadadi is the main composer and percussionist with Namah Ensemble. He
is a virtuoso Iranian tombak and daf (frame drum)
player, who has been hailed “the finest Iranian percussionist
living in the West,” by KPFA-FM Radio. The recipient
of the prestigious Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award, Hadadi
began playing tombak at the age of 10 under the masters
of the instrument Asadollah Hejazi and Bahman Rajabi. In 1990,
upon immigration to the United States, he began his professional
career, performing and recording with ensembles of Persian classical
music as well as Indian, Turkish, and American musicians. In
1995, Hadadi joined Dastan Ensemble, one of today’s most forward
looking Persian music ensembles, which has performed in important
music festivals world-wide. In 2000, he joined the celebrated
ZARBANG. He also has collaborated with Adam Rudolph and Brad
Dutz, among others, and performed with masters of Turkish music on
tour in the United States. Hadadi’s modern approach to
the traditional tombak lies in his ability to produce melodic
patterns within rhythmic structures, as well as in his experiments
with creating complex variations on the basic sounds of tombak. He
also brings to Persian rhythm an Indian percussive sensibility: Hadadi
has a deep interest in uncovering ancient Persian rhythms, which
were adopted by Indian music and can be traced in their repertoire.
Imamyar Hasanov
Imamyar Hasanov started taking kamancheh lessons as a child. (The kamancheh is
the Azerbaijani spiked fiddle and dates back to antiquity. It
has a small, hollowed, hardwood body with a thin stretched skin-membrane,
a cylindrical neck, and four strings. It is played vertically
in the manner of the European viol.) While still in
his teens, Hasanov participated in numerous competitions in Azerbaijan,
where his proficiency in performing and improvisational composition
was widely recognize. In a nationwide competition, he was awarded
First Prize in Solo Kamancheh. From 1990-94 he studied
at the esteemed State College of Art and Music, where he earned a
degree in music. He continued his studies under the tutelage
of the famous kamancheh soloist, Professor Habil Aliyev. He
later studied under the esteemed Azerbaijani pianist Chingiz Sadykhov,
lead artist for the Creative Work Fund-supported Nowruz Project. Following
his studies, he joined the faculty of the Department of Music at
Lokbatan Music School in Baku, Azerbaijan. Hasanov’s
musicianship and mastery of his instrument received critical acclaim,
not only at home but around the world. He has participated
in folk music festivals in many countries. Currently, Hasanov gives
performances and lectures on Azerbaijani traditional music and composition
at colleges, museums, and music halls around the United States. He
is teaching Azerbaijani music privately in Vermont.
Aziz Herawi
Master rubab and Afghani dutar player Aziz Herawi
was seven years old when he first heard the strings of the dutar being
plucked. He talked one of the family servants into buying an
instrument for him from a shepherd, and kept it hidden in a blanket. The
boy would wait until his father was asleep, and then sneak into the
woods surrounding their home to practice. He was still a young
man when his father died and he was able to pursue his passion openly. While
still in his 20s, Herawi became a well-known performer in Afghanistan. He
played before the king, Zaher Shah, with pop artist Ahmad Zahir,
and went on the road to Iran, Tajikistan, Uzekistan, Turkey, and
other Central Asian nations. His career came to an abrupt halt
in 1979, when the Soviets bombed Herat and troops arrived to round
up local musicians and intellectuals. Herawi was away at the
time, practicing with musician friends, but his family was killed. In
1983, he fled to Pakistan and settled into the Afghani expatriate
community in Northern California two years later.
At age 57, Herawi resides in Fremont, California. His music
is a blend of Persian and Hindustani instruments and styles and is
considered to be typical of Herat, Herawi’s hometown, near
the northeastern border with Iran. He has released two CDs and is
working on a third. He believes his primary mission is to connect
young Afghanis with a heritage they barely remember.
Mustafa Kart
Mustafa Kart’s poems depict the saga of the Kurdish people’s
struggle of survival, highlighting the vision of bright and free
tomorrows shared by a larger humanity. Born in Ankara in 1954
of Kurdish parents, since childhood this native Kurdish speaker has
been been singing folk songs, writing poems, and creating children’s
sketches, stories, and plays. He has recorded a cassette of
Kurdish poems he wrote in Turkey, which cannot be distributed due
to official restrictions on Kurdish language. He also has been
researching old Kurdish poems from well-known Kurdish poets.
Kart’s ancestors came from Dersim in Kurdistan, Turkey. His
great grandfather had migrated from east to central Anatolia, settling
in Ankara. He could only receive eight years of formal education
due to financial hardship. In 2001, he decided to leave his
homeland and immigrate to help his people by living freely and writing
freely. He has been residing in San Francisco and waging a
cultural struggle for the Kurdish people ever since.
Hossein Omoumi
Persian ney Master Hossein Omoumi was born to an artistic
family in Isfahan, Iran, home to many artists and musicians. His
early music training began in singing with his father. At age
14, he became fascinated by the sounds of the ney (Persian
bamboo flute), and began learning the works of Master Hassan Kassa’i. In
1962 he entered the National University of Iran to study architecture,
where he also entered musical competitions. His ney playing
caught the attention of judges and, with their recommendation, he
entered the National Conservatory of Music, studying music theory
and vocal radif (the repertoire of classical Persian music)
with Master Mahmood Karimi. In 1969 he met Master Hassan Kassa’i
and, under his supervision, studied the ney in-depth.
After receiving his doctorate in architecture, he divided his time
between architecture and music, collaborating with the Iranian National
Radio and Television, and teaching ney at the Center for
Preservation and Dissemination of Music, the National Conservatory,
and Tehran University. He left Iran in 1984 to settle in Paris
where he taught ney and avaz (vocals) at the Center
for Oriental Music Studies and performed throughout Europe. He
has been invited to teach at many distinguished universities and
to play at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide. His
research on the making of the ney and percussion introduced
significant innovations to the ney, tombak, and daf. Omoumi,
who plays the ney and sings alternately in performing the
music is considered by many to be the most gifted of his generation. A
new live album by Bamusic records is coming out soon.
Ozden Oztoprak
Kurdish vocalist and tembur (saz) player, Ozden
Oztoprak, was born in 1970 in the little town of Ovacik of Tunceli
in Turkey. Ozden is ethnically a Zaza Kurd and an Alevi from
a traditionally rebellious and long-suffering region of Dersim. She
attended and finished her schooling in her birthplace. In 1991,
she was admitted into the Folk Music Department of the Turkish Music
State Conservatory—a part of Istanbul’s prestigious ITU
University. She graduated from the Conservatory in 2001 and
participated as a vocalist in many music events—such as the
state TRT Radio Chorus. In 2001, Oztoprak immigrated to the
United States and came to San Francisco to join her husband and daughter. That
same year she performed at the Monterey Turkish Festival. In
2004, she sang for the Kurdish solidarity benefit event in San Mateo,
California.
Kemal Polat
Kemal Polat, a Kurdish tembur (saz) player, comes
from a Kurdish family originally from Sivas, Zara. Born in
Istanbul in 1979, he started playing saz when he was 12
and later attended baglama courses for four years to advance
his knowledge of the instrument. Polat graduated from Istanbul
University with a degree in Metallurgy Engineering. He was
20 years old when he started his own music group, playing at clubs
and weddings for more than seven years prior to coming to the United
States.
Kelly Thoma
Kella Thoma was born in Piraeus in 1978. Since 1995, she has
been studying the lyra with Ross Daly and, soon after beginning
her studies, began traveling with him and his group Labyrinth, participating
in concerts in Europe, Asia, and Australia. She has taken part
in many projects with musicians from various traditions from other
countries and this has led to her developing a distinctive and very
personal style of playing. Thoma graduated from the English
Literature department at Athens University as well as from the Rallou
Manou Dance School. She has performed with Ross Daly in many
important venues and festivals, such as Theatre de la Ville (Paris,
2003), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London, 2000, 2002), Melbourne Festival
(Australia, 2001, 2003), Megaron Mousikis (Thessaloniki, 2001) among
others.
Wang Wei
Wang Wei’s musical career started when his father taught him
the yangqin, the Chinese hammered dulcimer, at the age of
four. His musical talent and accomplishment in the instrument
was recognized at the China Music Conservatory, where he attended
middle and high school. During that time, he began to explore
percussion, studying with Zhu Xiao Lin, a master Chinese percussionist,
and Fang Guo Qing, a master in Western classical instruments, including
the xylophone, marimba, and snare drum. After graduation, Wang
was accepted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. There he
trained under the best percussion teachers in Shanghai, continuing
his studies in Chinese percussion with Li Ming Xiong and Western
percussion with Xue Bao Lun. After graduating, he joined the
Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble as their only percussion soloist. He
continued to perform as a guest musician with the Shanghai Chinese
Traditional Orchestra and many other TV and radio stations.
In 1994, Wang joined musicians from Germany, Inner Mongolia, Nanjing,
Chengdu, and Hangzhou to form an East-West ensemble called Crossing. Together,
they participated in the 1994 Beijing Jazz Festival, earning rave
reviews. In 1996, he was awarded a two-year Deutscher Akademischer
Austauschdienst (DADD) scholarship to study and perform in Berlin. There
he worked with many other musicians and performed for such notables
as the president of Germany. As a member of the trio Omen,
in 1996 he won first place at Berlin’s prestigious World Music
Competition. He attended the Berlin Conservatory of Music and
after graduation in 2000 was invited by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
to perform as a guest bangu soloist with Maestro Kent Nagano
in the Rhythm and Dance Concert. He has been recorded extensively
and featured in Sister Drum and the music for Crouching
Tiger Hidden Dragon.
In 2004 and 2005, Wang performed with the San Francisco Symphony
in a Chinese New Year Celebration concert. He continues to
perform all around the nation, fusing culture and music, showcasing
with an array of renowned artists. In 2004 he established the
North American Chinese Percussion Society to promote the understanding
and performance of Chinese percussion music.
|
