Ahmad Pejman


Ahmad Pejman, also spelled as Ahmad Pezhman, is an Iranian classical composer who resides in the United States. Pejman is notable for his operatic and symphonic works.

Biography

Born in 1935 in Lar, Iran, Pejman was exposed to the sounds and rhythms of southern Iran from early childhood. In high school he started violin lessons with Heshmat Sanjari and music theory with Hossein Nassehi.
As a young violinist with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, he was awarded a scholarship to study composition at the Music Academy in Vienna. He studied composition with Thomas Christian David, Alfred Uhl, and Hans Jelineck, Friedrich Cerha As a first year student at the Academy, Pejman's compositions were performed by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and his orchestral work Rhapsody was performed by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. In his third year as a student, he was commissioned to write the first Persian Opera Rustic Festival for the opening of the Tehran Opera house, Rudaki Hall. Upon graduation from the Academy of Music in Vienna, Pejman returned to Iran in 1968, where he was commissioned to write the opera Hero of Sahand which was based on legendary Persian hero Babak Khorramdin. The opera was premiered at Roudaki Hall in 1968. Between 1969 and 1978, Pejman continued to compose symphonic works, operas, ballets, and also wrote many scores for motion pictures and television programs.
In 1976, three years before the Iranian revolution, Pejman moved to New York, where he entered Columbia University's Doctorate of Music program in New York and continued his studies with Buelant Arel, Vladimir Ushachevsky and Jack Beeson.
In 1984, Pejman moved to Los Angeles and continued to compose and arrange music for jazz and pop ensembles, and motion pictures Threat, 1985.
In 1992, Pejman was commissioned to write a cantata for choir and orchestra for the liberation of Khorramshahr Beh Yade Khorramshahr, 1992. He was then commissioned to write music for a musical theater to be performed at Vahdat Hall Mokhtar, 1993. Since 1993 Pejman has been writing film music and composing for the orchestra and choir and released various soundtracks and CDs.

Compositions

Pejman has written orchestral works, operas, film scores, ballet pieces, and popular music.