Parvaz Homay is an Iraniancomposer, lyricist, vocalist, and performer specializing in Persian classical-style music. Also known by his given birth name Saieed Jafar-Zadeh, he is better known in the public as Homay. He is the founder and leader of the Mastan Ensemble.
Biography
Homay was born in Gilan, a province located in North-west portion of Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea. From an early age, Homay showed an interest in the arts. His favorite subjects at school were poetry and painting. At the age of 15, he began singing and acting in theater. At 16, he entered art school where he would receive his diploma for painting. At the age of 19, he left theater school and decided to study musical harmonization and composition with focus on piano and setar. Receiving his formal education in art studies and pursuing his degree from The Conservatory of Music in Tehran, Iran, Homay studied Persian poetry. His studies were conducted under supervision of professors such as Dr. Ali Gholi Bakhtiari-Tayari and Mr. Ali-Akbar Kanni. Homay learned Gilaki folk music with Mr. Fereydoun Pour-Reza and Persian classical music with Maestros Kamal-Din Abbas, Hengameh Akhvan and Karim Saleh Azimi. At the age of 30 he decided to study Italian Opera. To learn the discipline, he traveled to Italy and Canada to study under two operatic masters - Mr. Daniel Ebi and Mr. Delfo Menicucci.
Homay & Mastan Ensemble Performances
Homay & the Mastan Ensemble enjoyed success after the release of their album entitled "Molaghaat Ba Doozakhian," or "Meeting with Sinners among the Flames", which was written, composed, and sung by Homay. Homay & the Mastan Ensemble released "In Che Jahanist?" in 2007, an album that examining the relationship between human beings and the reality that they create. His performances have been held at notable and sizable venues across the globe, including but not limited to Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Lincoln Center in New York, Strathmore Hall in the Washington D.C. area, and Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, Canada. Over the past several years, Homay has been working on an international project entitled "Saving Our Planet Earth". To compile the various components of this project both musically and artistically, Homay has spent much time traveling and conducting research in various countries around the world, including Africa, India and Iran. Homay became a vegetarian 5 years ago. Although Homay lives in Iran, he is unable to perform there. As such, his fans travel outside the country to attend his performances. Parvaz has performed several mixed performances of Persian music in conjunction with symphony orchestras in operatic format in Belgium, Los Angeles and Toronto. Some of these include:
"Moses and the Shepherd"
"Love, Wisdom and Man"
"Love, Wisdom and Man", Roy Thompson Hall Toronto, Ontario, Conductor: Mr. Kerry Stratton
