Letter from Oakland
Youth Orchestra
The Oakland
Youth Orchestra is proud to announce that we are commissioning an orchestral
piece with traditional Persian instrumentation, to be debuted at a free concert
on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 3:00 pm at the
Scottish Rite Center in Oakland . The piece is being composed by
award-winning composer, conductor and educator Omid Zoufonoun, whose brother,
Amin Zoufonoun will be performing the Persian instrumentation. Both are sons of
the renowned Persian musician Mahmoud Zoufonoun. In *Manteq at-Tayr* (*Language of the Birds*), the
Oakland Youth Orchestra will be joined by the ancient sounds of a
traditional Persian instrumentalist in order to musically explore the Seven
Valleys to Enlightenment as depicted by the 12th century Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar.
The Zoufonoun Ensemble, consisting of Mahmoud Zoufonoun and his sons (from left
to right) Ramin, Omid, Amin and Amir. From Zoufonoun Family Archive.
We believe that this piece will expose our audiences to new types of music, in
addition to creating a spirit of harmony between countries and cultures. We are
very excited to share Persian culture and music with our audiences, many of whom
have not previously had this opportunity. We would be honored if you could join
us for this exciting event as well!
We need your help! This piece is made possible
through generous grants from the James Irvine Foundation and the East Bay
Community Foundation's East Bay Fund for Artists. The latter is a challenge
grant, in which we need to raise $5000 from individual donors for this
commission. Please help us achieve this goal by donating and/or passing this
information on to others who may be able to help.
Tax-deductible donations may be made online at
www.oyo.org or by mail
at the above address. Please be sure to designate that it is for the Persian
piece. We are grateful for any and all support!
Sepasgozar,
Gail Edwards,
General Manager - Zahra
Mahloudji, Administrative
Associate
... Payvand News - 01/14/10 ... --
