Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called composers. Composers of primarily songs are usually called songwriters; with songs, the person who writes lyrics for a song is the lyricist. In many cultures, including Western classical music, the act of composing typically includes the creation of music notation, such as a sheet music "score", which is then performed by the composer or by other musicians. In popular music and traditional music, songwriting may involve the creation of a basic outline of the song, called the lead sheet, which sets out the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In classical music, orchestration is typically done by the composer, but in musical theatre and in pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger to do the orchestration. In some cases, a pop or traditional songwriter may not use written notation at all and instead compose the song in their mind and then play, sing or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable sound recordings by influential performers are given the weight that written or printed scores play in classical music.
The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks and Hazaras. Instruments used range from Indian tablas to long-necked lutes. Afghanistan's classical music is closely related to Hindustani classical music while sourcing much of its lyrics directly from classical Persian poetry such as Mawlana Balkhi (Rumi) and the Iranian tradition indigenous to central Asia. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country.
The music of Iran encompasses music that is produced by Iranian artists. In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran. It consists of characteristics developed through the country's classical, medieval, and contemporary eras. It also influenced areas and regions that are considered part of Greater Iran.
Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer and academic teacher. A National Medal of Arts recipient (2007), he was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994 to 2001, and is the distinguished professor emeritus of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he taught for fifty-two years until his retirement in 2019.
Kayhan Kalhor is an Iranian Kurdish kamancheh and setar player and vocal composer. He has received three Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album nominations. Kalhor also has earned two nominations and won one Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble.
daKAH or daKAH hip hop orchestra is an orchestra co-founded by Los Angeles composer and the orchestra's conductor Geoff Gallegos with a diverse group of 23 musicians in 1999.
Since the Iranian revolution, Iranian female solo vocalists are permitted to perform for female audiences. Female vocalists can perform for male audiences only as a part of a chorus. The prominent classical singer Fatemeh Vaezi, has given concerts accompanied by a female orchestra. She has also performed widely in Europe and the United States. Parisa has also assembled a five-piece female orchestra. After 1986 Maryam Akhondy, the classical trained singer from Tehran, started working with other Iranian musicians in exile. With Nawa and Tschakawak she performed in Germany and Scandinavia. At the same time she founded Ensemble Barbad, another group of traditional Iranian art music, which has been touring all over Europe for the past years. In 2000 Maryam Akhondy created the all-female a cappella group named Banu as a kind of musical expedition to the different regions and cultures of Iran. For this project Maryam Akhondy, over years, collected old folk songs, which were sung only in private atmosphere, where women are alone or among themselves: at the cradle, doing housework, working in the fields, and women's celebrations. Maryam Akhondy made it her business to bring traditional women’s songs back to life again. The well-known classical and folk singer. Sima Bina, who is also a visual artist, has taught many female students how to sing. She has also been permitted to give concerts for women in Iran, and has performed widely abroad.
Iranian folk music refers to the folk music transmitted through generations among the people of Iran, often consisting of tunes that exist in numerous variants.
Mervyn Edwin Warren is an American film composer, record producer, conductor, arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 10-time Grammy Award nominee. Warren has written the underscore and songs for many feature and television films. He has also written countless arrangements in a variety of musical styles for producers Quincy Jones, David Foster, Arif Mardin, and dozens of popular recording artists, including extensive work on Jones' Back on the Block,Q's Jook Joint, and Q: Soul Bossa Nostra.
Pirayeh Pourafar (Born) is an Iranian musician, tar player, and expert on Persian music. Pourafar learned the radif as a student of Grand Master Ali Akbar Shahnazi at the Royal National Music Conservatory of Tehran. She has directed two successful Persian music ensembles, Nava Ensemble and Lian Ensemble.
Southwest Chamber Music is a chamber music ensemble based in Los Angeles County, California. The organization was founded in 1987 by the artistic director Jeff von der Schmidt and the executive director Jan Karlin. One of the most active chamber music ensembles in the United States, the ensemble performs year round, provides educational programs, tours internationally, and has recorded 30 compact discs.
Hafez Nazeri is a Kurdish Iranian singer and composer. He is the son of Kurdish Iranian musician Shahram Nazeri.
Symphony No. 4 Los Angeles is the fourth symphony by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It is the first of his symphonies to be written post-1976 and is in his signature tintinnabuli style. It is the first of his pieces that focuses on larger scale, instrumental tintinnabulation. Previous pieces, such as Summa and Für Alina, were typically written for SATB choir or a smaller number of instruments. Composed in 2008, and premiered 10 January 2009, Symphony No. 4 was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, although he did not receive the award.
Yuval Ron is a world music artist, composer, educator, peace activist, and record producer.
Paul Livingstone is an American sitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the few American disciples of Pandit Ravi Shankar, also trained under Rajeev Taranath and Amiya Dasgupta all of the Senia Maihar Gharana.
Manoochehr Sadeghi is a Persian-American naturalized citizen, born in Tehran, Iran. He is considered a Grandmaster or Ostad of the santur, a Persian hammered dulcimer. He has been lecturing, teaching, recording and performing Persian classical music on the santur professionally for over 50 years. In 2002, Sadeghi received the Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award and he is a recipient of a 2003 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
The Yuval Ron Ensemble is a musical group that focuses on traditional sacred Middle Eastern repertoire. The group’s stated mission is to “alleviate national, racial, religious and cultural divides by uniting the music and dance of the people of the Middle East into a unique mystical, spiritual and inspiring musical celebration.”
Habib Meftah Boushehri known professionally as Habib Meftah, is an Iranian Percussionist, singer and composer. This self-taught sound artist was born in Boushehr and currently resides in Paris. Habib Meftah is one of the most well-known Iranian percussionists world-wide, who has collaborated for years with numerous artists around the world such as Le Trio Joubran, Adnan Joubran, and Titi Robin, Azam Ali (Niyaz), etc. At the age of 10 he had already started playing traditional flutes and then he started playing percussion instruments. His versatility is based on the traditional musical culture of his southern Iranian origins. He debuted as a solo artist in 2005 with the album 'Deyzangeroo'. Habib Meftah released his 2nd solo album 'Shibaali' on 22 November 2020.
Tahmoures Pournazeri is an Iranian multi-instrumentalist and Iranian traditional musician. He is a member of Shamss Ensemble since 1989, along with his father Kaykhosro Pournazeri and his brother Sohrab pournazeri.