BEHZAD RANJBARAN, recipient of ASCAP’s Rudolf Nissim Award for his Violin Concerto, was born in Tehran, Iran. His musical education started early when he entered the Tehran Music Conservatory at age 9. He came to the United States in 1974, where he received his undergraduate studies at Indiana University and doctorate at The Juilliard School, studying with Vincent Persichetti, David Diamond, and Joseph Schwantner.

Named as “Distinguished Artist” by the New Jersey Council on the Arts, other honors include grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Museum, Meet the Composer’s Composer/Choreographer project, and a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

His “Persian Trilogy” comprising the works Seemorgh, The Blood of Seyavash, and Seven Passages has been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. Joshua Bell has performed Ranjbaran’s Violin Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, and Toronto Symphony; Chantal Juillet has performed the concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Songs of Eternity, a song cycle for Renée Fleming, has been performed with the Seattle Symphony under Gerard Schwarz. Other commissions include Saratoga for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Piano Quintet for the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival.

Ranjbaran teaches on the faculty of The Juilliard School. For further information, please visit www.behzadranjbaran.com

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