14th Bita Prize for Persian Arts: Shahram Nazeri

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: A free ticket is required but does not guarantee a seat. Seating is first come, first serve to those with a ticket. Doors will open at 5:20 PM for Early Seating and 5:45 PM for Standard Seating. Any remaining seats will be released at 6:15 PM. Event will be in English, and will include several speakers and a short performance by Mr. Nazeri.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Early Seating (5:20 PM)

A limited number of Early Seating tickets are available for this event. An Early Seating ticket allows you to select a seat from 5:20 PM until 5:40 PM on a first-come, first-served basis. After that time all open seats will be made available to those with Standard Seating tickets. Seats may not be held for those who are not present.

Standard Seating (5:45 PM)

The majority of the venue seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis to those with a Standard Seating ticket. Doors open from 5:45 PM until 6:10 PM for those with a Standard Seating ticket. Any remaining seats will be open at 6:15 PM. Seats may not be held for those who are not present.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• You must be able to show your Eventbrite ticket to gain entry, either the e-ticket or a print copy. Seats may not be held for those who are not present.
• A professional photographer and videographer will be taking photos and videos. By entering the venue, you consent to possibly appearing in the background of images and videos.
• Food and drinks are not allowed in CEMEX Auditorium.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Shahram Nazeri was born on August 22, 1949, in Kermanshah, Iran. His was a family steeped in art and culture. Though his father was a capable vocalist, it was his mother who first recognized and nurtured her son's talents and became his first music teacher. Nazeri gave his first performance when he was only nine, on a program on Kermanshah Radio. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Tehran and studied vocal techniques under renowned masters like Nur Ali Borumand, Abdullah Davami, and Mahmoud Karimi. At the same time, he completed his studies at the Music Conservatory.

During this time, Nazeri also learned the techniques of playing the Setar from Master Ahmad Ebadi. He won the top prize in the konkoor nation-wide entrance exam in the category of avaz, where the jury was comprised of prominent masters of music and chaired by the renowned poet, Houshang Ebtehaj. His performance at the Tus Festival in 1975, accompanied by Master Bahari, heralded the advent of a unique fresh voice for music lovers in Iran and around the world. In 1976, he joined the National Radio and Television of Iran and gave his first performance on television.

Even in the limited video recordings of Nazeri's performances from the period, his persistent inclination for innovation, and his continued eagerness to explore new vocal styles can unmistakably be seen. He was a young artist well-versed in traditional vocal styles but eager to discover new melodies and spaces, drawing inspiration from Kurdish and other Iranian ethnic musical traditions. His efforts also offered a new lofty place for Rumi's poetry in Iranian music, until then surprisingly all but ignored in the realm of music but strongly present in other domains of Iranian culture. With his voice, he pioneered a fervent and revolutionary atmosphere around such Rumi themes as love and the hundred-leaved rose. Nazeri's voice played a significant role in furthering Rumi's recognition worldwide. Some have even dubbed him "Rumi's Larynx."

The rising popularity of traditional instruments such as the Tanbur, Setar, and Daf among youth and society in Iran today can, in no small measure, be attributed to the influence of his works. In 2007, he was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his important work introducing Rumi to the world through music.

His insatiable curiosities and affinities have led him to work with some of Iran’s and the world’s foremost composers, conductors, and ensembles. He is himself a composer of great acclaim and accomplishments. His mastery of Persian poetry has led to his uniquely rich and varied compositions and performances of pieces inspired by Iran’s grand epic Shahnameh. In his mastery of the Shahnameh, and deep immersion in the poetry of Rumi, he has had the unique role of bridging the heights of Iranian epic and mystical traditions. He has been no less a creative pioneer in using masterpieces of modernist Persian poetry from poets like Nima and Akhavan to create pieces that brilliantly bridge tradition and modernity in Iran.

From all these many cultural sources and inspirations, he has fashioned for himself a unique voice at once unmistakably local but also delightfully global, epic and mystic, grand in power, sophisticated in detail, humble and defiant but always assertively committed to the dignity and redemptive power of music.

ABOUT THE BITA PRIZE FOR PERSIAN ARTS:

The annual is awarded by the Stanford Iranian Studies Program to an artist of Iranian ancestry whose work, in the course of their lifetime, has exhibited singular achievements in both the realm of aesthetics and in the essence of defending the rights of artists to create, free from any fetters. The recipient is invited to Stanford University to give a public lecture and receive the prize. Since its inception in 2008, the Bita Prize has been awarded to outstanding Iranian scholars, artists and creators.

Host or Publisher Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies