TEHRAN – The Tehran Symphony Orchestra performed “Simorgh’s Abode” concert on Wednesday and Thursday at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, where it was led by the guest conductor Paniz Faryousefi.

Iranian musician, violinist, and conductor Paniz Faryousefi became the first woman to conduct a performance of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra in its history, IRNA reported.

The concert presented a blend of Iranian and global artistry, including works by Iranian female composers Aftab Darvishi and Golfam Khayam, as well as globally-renowned Franz Schubert, Jean Sibelius, and Aram Khachaturian.

Speaking at the end of the performance, Faryousefi credited the Rudaki Foundation and the orchestra’s artistic council for selecting her, calling the appointment a sign of confidence and support for women in Iran’s classical music scene.

Faryousefi expressed gratitude to Nasir Heydarian, the permanent conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, “for being with me and the orchestra in a fatherly and compassionate manner during this time to ensure that this concert would be held in the best way possible”.

“I would like to dedicate tonight's concert to all Iranian women and mothers, especially my mother, who always wanted to see me as a leader,” Faryousefi added.

At the end of the concert, the Rudaki Foundation honored Paniz Faryousefi, Golfam Khayam, and Aftab Darvishi by presenting them with a plaque of appreciation and gifts.

A graduate of the Tehran Music Conservatory and the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, Paniz Faryousefi, 42, is concertmaster with the Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra. 

She is also the founder and leader of the Novak String Quartet, and has appeared as an invited guest violinist with the New York Philharmonic.

Born in Tehran, Golfam Khayam, 43, is a composer and improviser. Her career reflects her unique musical language through the integration of her native musical elements within a contemporary experimental musical framework.

She holds a “Master of Music” from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, the U.S. She continued her studies at the HEMGE (Switzerland), Interprétation Specialisée Solist and acquired the degree of Master of Composition. She is a guest Assistant Professor at the Art University of Tehran.

Khayam has appeared extensively as performer, composer, and her music is being performed worldwide, spreading her musical message in various projects, which have been featured at Elbphilharmonie, NPR “songs we love,” Danish Cultural Radio, BBC3, Deutchewele, Royal Festival Hall, and Ojai Festival.

Winner of numerous competitions, scholarships, and prizes, she has been named as the selected composer at the International Music Council, Rostrum of composers in the “Windows on the World” category in 2016, based in Paris.

She received HES-SO full fellowship award for the research project of “New Vocabulary,” shedding light on the concept of synthesis and cross-cultural fusion in contemporary music. 

She has been actively giving workshops on the subject of improvisation and synthesis as a guest lecturer, which includes Aarhus Royal Academy, Copenhagen Royal Music Academy, Geneva University, and Luzern Music University. 

Aftab Darvishi, 39, was born in Tehran. She began playing the violin at the age of five, later switching to classical piano. She also learned several traditional Persian instruments, including the kamancheh and setaar, in part thanks to the influence of her father, the renowned composer and music scholar Mohammad-Reza Darvishi.

After studying piano at the University of Tehran, she moved to the Netherlands, studying composition for film in Amsterdam and contemporary composition in The Hague. She is currently studying for a PhD in composition at the University of Birmingham, and is a regular guest lecturer at the University of Tehran.

Darvishi’s music combines aspects of her Western training with the deep influence of Persian music – sometimes through the use of traditional instruments, structures, modes, or harmonies – reflecting a rich multiplicity of influences.

She has written music for film, theater, and concerts, and especially relishes multidisciplinary projects. Her work has been heard around the world. She has worked with ensembles including BBC Singers, Kronos Quartet, Orkest de Ereprijs, Helsinki Chamber Choir, Latvian Radio Choir, Riccioti Ensemble, and Oerknal. Darvishi was the first non-European female winner of the Tenso Young Composers Award in 2016.

The Tehran Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1933, is Iran's oldest and largest symphony orchestra. It was founded as the Municipality Symphony Orchestra by Gholamhossein Minbashian, before entering its modern form under Parviz Mahmoud in 1946. 

In the years that followed, conductors such as Rubik (Ruben) Gregorian, Morteza Hannaneh, Haymo Taeuber, Heshmat Sanjari, Farhad Meshkat, and Fereydoun Nasseri took over as the conductors of the orchestra.

Performing pieces by acclaimed Iranian and international composers, the orchestra held more than 20 concerts last year at Vahdat Hall.

SS/SAB