Shahrdad Rohani, also known as Shardad Rohani ( fa, شهرداد روحانی, born 27 May 1954) is an

Iranian-American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist/

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and conductor. His style is contemporary and he is well known for composing and conducting classical, instrumental, adult contemporary/new age, film soundtrack as well as pop music. He has been the principal conductor and music director of the

Tehran Symphony Orchestra The Tehran Symphony Orchestra (TSO, fa, ارکستر سمفونیک تهران), founded in 1933, is Iran's oldest and largest symphony orchestra. It was founded as the ''Municipality Symphony Orchestra'' by Gholamhossein Minbashian, before enteri ...

since 2016.

Early life

He was born in 1954 in Tehran, Iran. His father, Reza Rohani, was an accomplished musician and as a result, Shahrdad and all of his brothers including

Anoushiravan Rohani Anoushiravan Rohani ( fa, انوشیروان روحانی; born July 24, 1939), also spelled Anooshiravan Rowhani, is an Iranian pianist and composer. He is known for composing and conducting contemporary classical music, as well as pop music w ...

and Ardeshir Rohani followed in their father's footsteps. He began playing the piano at age 6, like many of his other brothers. As a child, he was a student to a well-known Persian violinist, Ebrahim Rouhifar. At age 10 he attended the Persian National Music Conservatory of Tehran. By 1975, he was studying Composition and Orchestra Conducting at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

. By 1984, Shahrdad moved to Los Angeles.

Musical career

From 1987 until 1991, Rohani served as the music director and conductor of the Committee on the Arts (COTA) symphony orchestra in Los Angeles. He has appeared as a guest conductor with a number of prestigious orchestras including London's

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...

San Diego Symphony The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. The orchestra is resident at Copley Symphony Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera. History On December 6th 1910, the ...

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is an American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis on Monument Circl ...

New Jersey Symphony The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concert seri ...

Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra ( Croatian: ''Zagrebačka filharmonija'') is an orchestra based in Zagreb, Croatia. It was officially founded on the 30 November 1919. History The origins of the orchestra can be found in the opera ensemble of ...

, the

American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras The American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (AYPO) is group of youth orchestras in the Washington metropolitan area. The group consists of three full orchestras (the American Youth Philharmonic, Symphonic Orchestra, and Concert Orchestra), and thre ...

and many others. Rohani arranged and conducted a sixty piece orchestra to supplement Yanni's keyboard compositions during the ''

Yanni Live at the Acropolis ''Live at the Acropolis'' is the first live album and concert film by the Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer Yanni, released on March 1, 1994, on Private Music. It was recorded at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece during his 1 ...

'' concert in 1993 - an open-air concert with the London

Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

on the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Shahrdad also played the violin in all but two of the tracks during this concert. ''Yanni Live at the Acropolis ''was acclaimed by both critics and audience and became the most widely viewed program ever shown on Public Television in United States and is the second best-selling music video of all time. In 1994, he became a US Citizen. Rohani was commissioned in 1998 by the government of Thailand and the committee of the 13th

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

to compose and conduct the music for opening ceremonies. The composition became the most popular song of the Asian Games. In 1999, Rohani received the Thailand's 'King's Golden Pikanes Award', the country's most prestigious music award for an outstanding orchestral performance. The award is considered the highest artistic achievement.

Discography

Solo albums

Compilation and guest artist albums

Awards

* A.K.M. Scholarship (Vienna, Austria) * ASCAP Scholarship (Los Angeles, California) * 1984 – Jerry Fielding Award, UCLA * 1999 – 'Pikanes Award' by the Musical Association of Thailand

References

External links

Shardad at Serenity Music
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohani, Shahrdad Iranian conductors (music) Iranian composers Iranian pianists Iranian violinists Living people University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Iranian emigrants to the United States 1954 births 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century pianists 21st-century violinists Barbad award winners