Hooshyar Khayam


Hoshyar Khayam is a British-Iranian music performer, composer, and teacher. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Early life and education

Hooshyar Khayam was born in 1978 in Bedford, England; to Iranian parents, visual artist Pariyoush Ganji and music composer Masud Khayam. He started studying music at the age of seven and studied music under the supervision of various professors.
Khayam obtained an associate degree in piano playing in music theory 1996; and a BA degree in 1997 from Trinity College London; and a BA degree in Iranian music from Iran Arts University in 1999. He has a BA degree in Iranian music from the University of the Arts London.
Khayam has a MA and a PhD in composition and conducting from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied under Gao Weijie, Miguel Roig-Francoli, Lee Fiser, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Mark Gibson, Joel Hoffman, Michael Chertock, and Robert Zierolf.

Music

"… a true blend of Persian and European music…" Khayam's music blends influence of styles and music of extreme sources into new merged musical compositions. Khayam's music is often driven from various sources with curiosity towards new sonorities of instruments and instrumental combinations.
Kronos Quartet joined by the American pianist and producer Stephen Prutsman commissioned and recorded Khayam's music in production of Monir directed by Bahman Kiarostami, a documentary film on the life and art of the Iranian female visual artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. The film has been on show in Guggenheim, MOMA, ICA, TATE Modern, among other contemporary museums, and has been toured in Europe, Asia, and South America. Khayam's original music to Ivanov directed by Amir Reza Koohestani, a production by Mehr Theater Group, was staged in Lisbon, Campo Alegre, Heerlen, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Zurich, Basel, Hanover, Brussels, as well as in Iran.
Khayam's discography includes over a dozen publications including "RAAZ" Songlines 5-start choice Best Album of the Year, "Music for Tar and Piano" chosen Best Album of the Year MUSICEMA, "All of You" Songlines 4-star choice Best Album of the Year.
Khayam's music has been performed by Kronos Quartet, Stephen Prutsman, Hossein Alizadeh, Anja Lechner, Aram Talalyan, Todd Palmer, Szofia Boros, Golfam Khayam, Mona Matbou Riahi, Elina Bertina, Evgeny Bushkov, Artur Avanesov, Wayne Foster-Smith, Eva-Christina Schonweiss, Kirsten Ecke, Burghard Toelke, Klara Ausserhuber, Morrison Trio, Scheherazade Ensemble, LSCO Orchestra, Naregatsi Strings, Ukraine Philharmonic Orchestra, Nilper Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi Strings, and others.
During the period of working on his doctorate degree, he held many concerts including the concert of Khayam's quatrains and the 2005 concert of the Florence Music Festival in Italy led by Professor Jules Hoffmann. In the United States, he taught music theory and composition at the University of Cincinnati.

Publications

Five volumes of Khayam's books have been published.
Book titleYearDescriptionISBN
Selected Works1371–1378Nader Book Publishing9664925577553
Music for Piano1380–1387Ebtekar No Publications9789646579477
Orchestra Leadership1996Comprehensive Guide to Leadership Techniques and Practices, by Max Rudolph, translated by Hoshyar Khayam, Atai Publications964313555199
Poet's Piano1997Selected Articles Related to Piano Playing, Atai Publications96431357878