Film Screening & Discussion: Rediscovering “12 Persian Folk Songs” by Blair Fairchild

Musician Faraz Minooei’s new film brings back to life the late 19th century Iranian music Blair Fairchild (American composer and diplomat) discovered and published in 1904.
 
In the film, Faraz collaborates with Golnaz Khazei (vocals) and Reza Ahmadi (piano). They explore the songs in the manner they were written, in the hope of bringing forth the emotions Fairchild described so vividly in his own words about how he was moved or enchanted by Persian music on those 'warm Persian nights.'

The Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies invites you to watch 12 Persian Folk Songs from home at a time that works for your schedule, then join us on Zoom for a post-screening discussion with Faraz Minooei.  Please RSVP to receive the Zoom information.  The film will be published August 22 on the Iranian Studies YouTube channel.  Film is in Persian with English subtitles.  Discussion will be in English.
 
Faraz Minooei was born in Tehran and began playing santur at the age of nine. As a full-time musician Faraz is a performer, composer, and teacher. Since 2006, he has lectured and performed at many universities including SFSU, UCI, UCLA, UCSC, Stanford University, and at the Society of Ethnomusicology. He is the founder of Bay Area Persian Music Ensemble and has performed with prominent ensembles in the United Sates, including: his collaboration in 2009 with Yo-Yo Ma and Kayhan Kalhor in the Silk Road Ensemble (for the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Center); and the collaboration as a composer and santur player with the director Bahram Beyzaie for his plays Jana & Baladoor, Ardaviraf's Report, and Crossroads.

He received his Bachelor of Arts from San Francisco State University in 2008 as a Nagle Scholar and the first world/jazz music major with santur as his primary instrument. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in music with an emphasis in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology from the University of California in Irvine. His thesis, "Abstracting" Iranian Classical Music, challenges the traditional practice of Iranian classical music to introduce innovative and transformative functions of the music in contemporary society.

This film is partially supported by funding from the Stanford Festival of Iranian Arts and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies.

If you need a disability-related accommodation for this event, please contact us at iranianstudies [at] stanford.edu (iranianstudies[at]stanford[dot]edu).  Requests should be made by August 16, 2022.