Kourosh Zolani
Encyclopedia
Kourosh Zolani is an Iranian-American
composer and instrumental soloist. He is known for designing and playing a chromatic santour
.
His compositions based on using his unique chromatic Santour
include Memoirs of Sangesar, Dance of Change and Peaceful Planet.Other works include: It Used to be Home, Concerto for Santour and Orchestra, With us Forever, Shabnam, Dandelions, Didar, My Childhood Dream, Victory, Snow Queen, Dreams Are Real, Butterflies and Goodbye Homeland
, Iran
. From an early age, he had dreamed of being a musician in spite of having to work hard alongside his siblings to make ends meet.
Zolani developed a passion for musical expression and learned to play the santour at age 14 and left home as a young adult to pursue his passion at the University of Art in Tehran. He studied classical composition and trained with Master Farāmarz Pāyvar
.
instrument, which is relative to playing a piano without the use of the black keys. Zolani enhanced the instrument by creating a chromatic
santour, which essentially allows the use of both black and white keys. Over the history of the Persian santour, unsuccessful attempts had been made to create a chromatic santour, but the enhanced instrument remained in experimental phases, never becoming functional. Zolani's change and enhancement of the santour was an historical first in the presentation and playing capabilities of the instrument. The transformation allowed for more chromatic and complex orchestral versatility.
Since 1995, Zolani has performed his original compositions in concerts in Washington, D.C., as well as the ancient Roman city of Jerash in Jordan, featuring his new chromatic santour. He participated as a santour player in David Arkenstone
's Atlantis album, which received a Grammy Award nomination for the Best New Age
Album of the Year.
In November 2009, Zolani released a collection of his original work, entitled Memoirs of Sangesar. In 2004, his album, Peaceful Planet was awarded the Best Solo Instrumental Album of the Year in the Just Plain Folks Music Organization
's International Contest. He has also received The Elaine Weissman Los Angeles Treasures Award from The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
and The California Traditional Music Society.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
composer and instrumental soloist. He is known for designing and playing a chromatic santour
Santur
The santur is a Persian hammered dulcimerIt is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The Persian classical santur has 72 strings. The name santur was first referenced in ancient Persian poetry...
.
His compositions based on using his unique chromatic Santour
Santur
The santur is a Persian hammered dulcimerIt is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The Persian classical santur has 72 strings. The name santur was first referenced in ancient Persian poetry...
include Memoirs of Sangesar, Dance of Change and Peaceful Planet.Other works include: It Used to be Home, Concerto for Santour and Orchestra, With us Forever, Shabnam, Dandelions, Didar, My Childhood Dream, Victory, Snow Queen, Dreams Are Real, Butterflies and Goodbye Homeland
Personal life
Zolani was the youngest of ten children was raised in a poverty-stricken home in the small village of SangesarSangsar (Mahdishahr)
Mehdishahr Mehdishahr is located on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains. Here, the chain of Alborz mountains is very close to the desert of Dasht-e Kavir....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. From an early age, he had dreamed of being a musician in spite of having to work hard alongside his siblings to make ends meet.
Zolani developed a passion for musical expression and learned to play the santour at age 14 and left home as a young adult to pursue his passion at the University of Art in Tehran. He studied classical composition and trained with Master Farāmarz Pāyvar
Faramarz Payvar
Master Farāmarz Pāyvar was an Iranian composer and santur player. Payvar died on December 9, 2009 after a long struggle with brain damage.-Works:...
.
Professional background
Zolani is known for the development of a new tuning technique for the santour, which is an ancient Iranian instrument. The traditional Iranian santour is a diatonicDiatonic scale
In music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note, octave-repeating musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole steps...
instrument, which is relative to playing a piano without the use of the black keys. Zolani enhanced the instrument by creating a chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
santour, which essentially allows the use of both black and white keys. Over the history of the Persian santour, unsuccessful attempts had been made to create a chromatic santour, but the enhanced instrument remained in experimental phases, never becoming functional. Zolani's change and enhancement of the santour was an historical first in the presentation and playing capabilities of the instrument. The transformation allowed for more chromatic and complex orchestral versatility.
Since 1995, Zolani has performed his original compositions in concerts in Washington, D.C., as well as the ancient Roman city of Jerash in Jordan, featuring his new chromatic santour. He participated as a santour player in David Arkenstone
David Arkenstone
David Arkenstone is an American New Age musician. His music is primarily instrumental, with occasional vocalizations. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 1, 1952. He has three children—Quillon, Dashiell and Valinor—with his first wife, Julie...
's Atlantis album, which received a Grammy Award nomination for the Best New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
Album of the Year.
In November 2009, Zolani released a collection of his original work, entitled Memoirs of Sangesar. In 2004, his album, Peaceful Planet was awarded the Best Solo Instrumental Album of the Year in the Just Plain Folks Music Organization
Just Plain Folks Music Organization
Just Plain Folks Music Organization is a website and community founded by Brian Austin Whitney with the intent of helping anyone involved in the music industry to network, share their experiences, build relationships, and grow...
's International Contest. He has also received The Elaine Weissman Los Angeles Treasures Award from The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department is the official Los Angeles, California, USA arts council.The agency approves the design of structures built on or over City property and accepts works of art to be acquired by the City...
and The California Traditional Music Society.
Footnotes
- Link to the English translation of the article “Conversation with Kourosh Zolani about Chromatic Santour" in Iran Newspaper. Link to the article in Persian.