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A Portrait Concert Celebrating Reza Vali
Presented by Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies
date & time
Tue, Sep 24, 2024
5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
ticketing
RSVP required.
- This event has passed.
This portrait concert features three Decoda artists and celebrates Reza Vali’s unique accomplishments and artistic identity. Dedicated to championing the work of living composers, Decoda has a particular history working with Vali, and brings forth an especially committed and informed interpretation of his distinct musical voice. This performance also marks the premiere of a new version of Vali’s work ‘Mystery of the Rose’ for flute, cello and piano.
Please note that this event is invite-only. If you are interested in attending, please contact .
Reza Vali
Reza Vali was born in Ghazvin, Iran, in 1952. He began his music studies at the Conservatory of Music in Tehran. In 1972, he went to Austria and studied music education and composition at the Academy of Music in Vienna. After graduating, he moved to the United States and continued his studies at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his Ph.D. in music theory and composition in 1985.
Mr. Vali has been a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. He has received numerous honors and commissions, including the honor prize of the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Sciences, two Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships, commissions from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, the Carpe Diem String Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, as well as grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as the Outstanding Emerging Artist for which he received the Creative Achievement Award.
Vali’s orchestral compositions have been performed in the United States by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra 2001. His chamber works have received performances by Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Carpe Diem String Quartet, Kronos Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His music has been performed in Europe, China, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Australia and is recorded on the Deutsche Gramophone, Naxos, New Albion, MMC, Ambassador, Albany, and ABC Classics labels.
Decoda
As an artist-led collective, seeks to create a more compassionate and connected world through music – thoughtfully curating outstanding performances of live chamber music, facilitating creative community projects, and inspiring the next generation of musical artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society.
Decoda was founded in 2012 by musicians who first collaborated as members of Ensemble Connect, a two-year fellowship program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the NYC Department of Education. In recognition of its members’ ongoing success as artists, educators, and advocates for music, Decoda is the only independent ensemble to be recognized as an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall.
Catherine Gregory, Flute
Winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, Australian flutist Catherine Gregory has performed as recitalist and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, Caramoor, the Chamber Music Societies of Philadelphia and Lincoln Center, Camerata Pacifica, the Moab Musical Festival, Við Djúpið Festival in Iceland and with the Southern Cross Soloists.
Catherine is a Core-Artist of Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall and previously served as co-artistic director. Committed to nurturing the next generation of young artists, Catherine currently serves on the faculties of The Colburn School and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and she is the newly appointed Director of the UCLA Gluck Fellows Music program. First coming to the US as a Fulbright Scholar, she has given masterclasses and residencies at leading music schools internationally, from The Tianjin Juilliard School, to Curtis, to the Guildhall School in London. Catherine’s album together with pianist David Kaplan, entitled Vent, was released on the Bright Shiny Things label in 2023.
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, Cello
Icelandic cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony, among others. Her recital and chamber music performances have taken her to many of the world’s prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Barbican Center.
Her most recent album “Marrow: The 6 Suites for Solo Cello by J.S.Bach” was released on the Sono Luminus label in 2023. Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Sæunn serves on the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
David Kaplan, Piano
David Kaplan is a New York-born piano soloist and chamber musician, praised by the Boston Globe for “grace and fire” at the keyboard. He has appeared as soloist with the Britten Sinfonia and Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, and this season makes debuts with the Symphony Orchestras of Hawaii and San Antonio. He has given recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Washington’s National Gallery, and New York’s Carnegie and Merkin Halls. In addition to his work with Decoda, he has collaborated with the Attacca, Ariel, and Tesla String Quartets. Kaplan is the Assistant Professor and Inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he has taught since 2016.
A graduate of UCLA, Yale, and a Fulbright scholar in Berlin, Kaplan’s teachers and mentors include Claude Frank, Walter Ponce, Miyoko Lotto, and Richard Goode. Away from the keyboard, he loves cartooning and cooking and is mildly obsessed with classic cars. .
Reza Vali
Reza Vali was born in Ghazvin, Iran, in 1952. He began his music studies at the Conservatory of Music in Tehran. In 1972, he went to Austria and studied music education and composition at the Academy of Music in Vienna. After graduating, he moved to the United States and continued his studies at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his Ph.D. in music theory and composition in 1985.
Mr. Vali has been a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. He has received numerous honors and commissions, including the honor prize of the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Sciences, two Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships, commissions from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, the Carpe Diem String Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, as well as grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as the Outstanding Emerging Artist for which he received the Creative Achievement Award.
Vali’s orchestral compositions have been performed in the United States by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra 2001. His chamber works have received performances by Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Carpe Diem String Quartet, Kronos Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His music has been performed in Europe, China, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Australia and is recorded on the Deutsche Gramophone, Naxos, New Albion, MMC, Ambassador, Albany, and ABC Classics labels.
Decoda
As an artist-led collective, seeks to create a more compassionate and connected world through music – thoughtfully curating outstanding performances of live chamber music, facilitating creative community projects, and inspiring the next generation of musical artists to rethink and reimagine their role in society.
Decoda was founded in 2012 by musicians who first collaborated as members of Ensemble Connect, a two-year fellowship program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the NYC Department of Education. In recognition of its members’ ongoing success as artists, educators, and advocates for music, Decoda is the only independent ensemble to be recognized as an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall.
Catherine Gregory, Flute
Winner of the Pro Musicis International Award, Australian flutist Catherine Gregory has performed as recitalist and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall, Caramoor, the Chamber Music Societies of Philadelphia and Lincoln Center, Camerata Pacifica, the Moab Musical Festival, Við Djúpið Festival in Iceland and with the Southern Cross Soloists.
Catherine is a Core-Artist of Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall and previously served as co-artistic director. Committed to nurturing the next generation of young artists, Catherine currently serves on the faculties of The Colburn School and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and she is the newly appointed Director of the UCLA Gluck Fellows Music program. First coming to the US as a Fulbright Scholar, she has given masterclasses and residencies at leading music schools internationally, from The Tianjin Juilliard School, to Curtis, to the Guildhall School in London. Catherine’s album together with pianist David Kaplan, entitled Vent, was released on the Bright Shiny Things label in 2023.
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, Cello
Icelandic cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Iceland Symphony, among others. Her recital and chamber music performances have taken her to many of the world’s prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Barbican Center.
Her most recent album “Marrow: The 6 Suites for Solo Cello by J.S.Bach” was released on the Sono Luminus label in 2023. Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Sæunn serves on the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
David Kaplan, Piano
David Kaplan is a New York-born piano soloist and chamber musician, praised by the Boston Globe for “grace and fire” at the keyboard. He has appeared as soloist with the Britten Sinfonia and Das Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, and this season makes debuts with the Symphony Orchestras of Hawaii and San Antonio. He has given recitals at the Ravinia Festival, Washington’s National Gallery, and New York’s Carnegie and Merkin Halls. In addition to his work with Decoda, he has collaborated with the Attacca, Ariel, and Tesla String Quartets. Kaplan is the Assistant Professor and Inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he has taught since 2016.
A graduate of UCLA, Yale, and a Fulbright scholar in Berlin, Kaplan’s teachers and mentors include Claude Frank, Walter Ponce, Miyoko Lotto, and Richard Goode. Away from the keyboard, he loves cartooning and cooking and is mildly obsessed with classic cars. .