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Saman Samadi (born 1984) is a Persian-American composer, performer, and musicologist with a prolific body of work spanning nearly twenty years. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge.
Saman Samadi's compositional repertoire includes orchestral, chamber, solo, and electroacoustic pieces, which have gained international exposure through performances across various regions, including the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, and the United States. His research is centered on contemporary Western art music and Persian classical music, with a particular emphasis on advancing novel compositional approaches and musical experimentalism. He integrates creative practices with scholarly pursuits in cultural studies, (ethno)musicology, theory, and philosophy.
Samadi's compositional approach, characterized by a melding of complexity and expressivity, draws inspiration from Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, James Dillon, and Chris Dench. Samadi's compositions incorporate influences from Persian Classical music, poetry, language, visual arts, and postmodern philosophy. His work employs microtonal modes derived from Persian classical music, creating a unique pitch space with heterophonic textures, polyrhythms, and polymeters.
Samadi reimagines Persian calligraphy, incorporating it as both visual and structural elements in his Augenmusik scores, thus creating a multi-dimensional experience that echoes with philosophical and poetic qualities.
As a scholar, Samadis research interests span a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary areas, including ethnomusicology, composition, poststructuralism, semiotics, music and identity, linguistics, aesthetics of modernism and postmodernism, conceptual history, continental philosophy, Deleuze and Guattari, complexity, music notation, experimental music, and performance practice of new music.
Saman Samadi began his education at NODET, a renowned institution for mathematical prodigies in Iran, where he obtained a degree in Mathematics and Physics. He continued his studies in Philosophy and Critical Thinking at the University of Queensland, and Artistic Research at the Orpheus Institute and Leuven University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and a Master of Arts in Composition from the University of Tehran, where he studied under the tutelage of composer Alireza Mashayekhi. Samadi directed the Concentus Orchestra from 2006 to 2009, an ensemble composed of musicians from the Tehran Music Conservatory and the University of Tehran. He received recognition by winning the first prize at the 2012 Counterpoint-Italy International Composition Competition. In 2014, his work was selected for premiere at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival.
From 2013 to 2020, Samadi actively participated in New York City's experimental music scene. In 2018, he founded the Saman Samadi Quintet, bringing together alumni from the Manhattan School of Music. He also led two other ensembles based in New York City: the Apām Napāt Trio and the Aži Trio. In recognition of his contributions to the performing arts, particularly as an experimental music improviser, the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) awarded him an Artist Diploma in 2015. Samadi has served as a faculty member at the Music School of New York City and the Piano School of NYC. Samadi has served as the Editorial Officer for the Wolfson Research Event at Cambridge and actively participates in reviews for reputable journals, including the Journal for Artistic Research.
Samadi conducted his doctoral research from 2020 to 2023 at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Richard Causton and Peter McMurray. His academic achievements were recognized and supported through his appointment as a Dr Grantham Scholar. Samadi founded and led the Cambridge University Experimental Music Ensemble. During his time at Cambridge, Samadi served as President of the Wolfson College Music Society and academic supervisor at the Faculty of Music at Cambridge.
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