Farzad

International violinist and composer Farzad strongly believes in "the oneness of humanity" and strives to communicate "the commonality of human emotions" through the music he composes and performs. On his latest album, Mirror of Emotions, he utilizes his violin to create music that reflects his emotions in the hope that listeners will discover similar feelings within themselves.

Classically-trained, Farzad makes music that falls into the arena of classical crossover or contemporary classical with elements of Mideastern folkloric (reflecting his heritage), Latin (influenced by time spent living in South America where he was the concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador), other world musics, new age and smooth jazz. "Just like we enjoy eating different foods from countries all over the world, we should appreciate music from everywhere too," states Farzad. "I don't believe in musical limitations. I don't care what style music is if it is good. In the classical field I was always a rebel because I was never comfortable listening to just one type of music."

One reason that Farzad stresses the common ties of all humanity is because of his worldwide travels and his personal odyssey. He was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, but left there at age 18 and had his college education in the United States. When Khomeini came into power in the late Seventies, most of Farzad's family was persecuted for their belief in the Bahá'í religion so they fled and were scattered around the world. One of his uncles was executed in Iran for his faith. Farzad has never returned. "I have lived longer in the United States than I did in Iran," he says, "and I appreciate the freedoms we have here because I have seen the danger of political and military rulers who persecute anyone with different beliefs."

When Farzad Khozein was six-years-old, he began taking violin lessons from his uncle, Rahmatolláh Badiyi, one of the top violinists and kamáncheh (like a small Persian cello) players in Iran. In the past few years, Farzad returned the favor by producing an album by Badiyi, Sounds of the Violin and Kamáncheh, for Amity Records. In addition, both perform traditional Persian music on the album Mystery of Love with vocalist Parisa Badiyi, Rahmatolláh's daughter. Farzad was accepted into the Conservatory of Music in Tehran when he entered the fourth grade and he began dedicated studies of Western classical music that culminated there when he graduated with his diploma. He spent one summer living in Kenya, Africa with his brother. Farzad continued his education at Indiana University where he studied with violinists Yuval Yaron, Franco Gulli and James Buswell. Farzad also took composition classes from John Newton and jazz improvisation with David Baker. "There were tremendous opportunities to hear and perform concerts there," Farzad remembers. He played regularly with the school’s full orchestra, chamber orchestra, string quartets and orchestral bands backing opera and ballet performances. Farzad, who left for one semester to study with Jesse Cecci (the concert master with the Denver Symphony Orchestra), received his Bachelors of Music degree in performance.

Some of Farzad’s family had settled in South America, so he went to visit for a year and immediately got a job as concert master with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador. "While I was there I developed a real love for Latin music, especially the energy, driving rhythms and innovative melodic lines." Back in the United States, he decided to continue his education at the University of North Texas where he received his Masters degree in music performance and composition. During those years, Farzad performed constantly at night and on weekends with Houston’s Ballet, Grand Opera and Pop Orchestra companies (one time sharing the stage with Woody Herman) as well as with the Dallas Opera and the Ft. Worth Symphony.

" I started composing music when I was in second grade, but it became a much more serious endeavor when I was in college. I also began studying traditional Persian folkloric music because it reminded me of my youth. Everything I write comes from the harmony, which is a little strange, but that’s my tendency because I love harmony so much. I hear a melody and I start working around it. I prefer playing the second violin part on Brahms’s string quartet pieces because he wrote such amazing harmony parts. I use the piano for compositional purposes, and I play it a little on the tune 'Why?', but I primarily use the violin for performance."

Farzad moved to Albuquerque and turned his attention from live performances to recording, although he played at a summer festival in Santa Fe, various colleges, and occasional parties and business gatherings. He also was invited to serve as the concert master for the Second Bahá’i World Congress Orchestra in New York City which included concerts for 30,000 attendees.

Farzad recorded his first album, From My Heart, creating all the music himself. The album, which hit The Music Review Top 100 charts, contained a mix of original compositions as well as his contemporary arrangements of Persian folk music. In recent years, Farzad has performed throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe and South America. In the summer of 2002, Farzad co-headlined (with the Colombian band Millero Congo and various international singers) a six-week "Oneness Tour" produced by multi-Grammy-Award-winning K.C. Porter, who has worked with Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The concerts were put on by Oneness, a non-profit organization that promotes racial unity through music and the arts. "We didn’t preach, but simply tried to touch the audience with our message through the music," explains Farzad.

" I think humankind has the opportunity to move forward and overcome all of the problems the world faces. If we start with communication and sharing, more and more of a global realization of possibilities will take place. Some governments may delay the process, but they cannot stop it. We are at a new point of maturity for humanity. I truly believe that humanity is destined for something more noble than what we have seen in the past."