Tara Kamangar is a classical pianist and composer.[1]

Tara Kamangar
Background information
BornStanford, California, United States
GenresClassical, world
Occupation(s)Pianist, composer
Instrument(s)Piano, violin
Years active2005–present
LabelsDelos Productions
Websitetarakamangar.net

Biography

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Born in Stanford, California, Tara Kamangar began studying piano and violin at the age of three.[2]

Kamangar has premiered several works by Iranian composers throughout the U.S. and Europe,[3] including the U.S. Premieres of Aminollah Hossein’s Concerto No. 2[4] and Concerto No. 3[5] and the world premiere of Naji Hakim’s Esquisses Persanes.[6] She has performed at London's Cadogan Hall, New York City's Carnegie Hall,[7] DC's National Gallery of Art, Oakland's Paramount Theatre,[3] San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium,[8] LA's Disney Hall and Sweden's Gothenburg Concert Hall[9] and Södra Teatern,[10] among other venues, and collaborated with conductors including Loris Tjeknavorian,[8] Michael Morgan (conductor)[4] and Henrik Jul Hansen.[11]

Kamangar is an honors graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Anthropology,[3] and London's Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Patsy Toh as a recipient of the Kathleen Bayfield scholarship.[12]

Recordings

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East of Melancholy

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Kamangar’s solo classical piano album, "East of Melancholy: Piano Music from Russia to Iran," was released on the Delos Productions label and distributed internationally by Naxos Records.[13] Recorded on The Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound by producer and Grammy Award winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones, the album explores the musical connection between the countries from Russia to Iran. The album reached No. 12 on the Billboard's classical chart,[13] and was critically acclaimed.[14][15][16][17][18]

Collaborations

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Kamangar wrote the original score for the documentary "Fifi Howls from Happiness" (France/Iran) directed by Mitra Farahani.[19] An avid composer with a background in ethnomusicology, she has incorporated Kurdish folk music into her classical compositions.[10]

Kamangar has collaborated with musicians across several genres, from Spanish classical guitarist Angel Romero[20] to multi-platinum R&B producer James Poyser.[21] She is the pianist, violinist, co-composer and co-producer for the classical hip hop project Triptyq (with soul singer Antoniette Costa and Pentatonix cellist/beatboxer Kevin Olusola) whose EP debuted in the top ten of Billboard's classical chart.[21] Kamangar has arranged and recorded for Mohsen Namjoo as a pianist,[22] and arranged and recorded violin for Kiosk (band) in their last four albums and throughout several tours.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "New York Pianist Tara Kamangar on Morning Light". classic107.com. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  2. ^ "Old keys, new tunes". gulfnews.com. 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  3. ^ a b c "Tara Kamangar". festivaldelsole.org. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  4. ^ a b "East Bay Symphony celebrates Persian New Year". sfchronicle.com. 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  5. ^ "Music Sales Classical". musicsalesclassical.com. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  6. ^ "Esquisses Persanes for piano". najihakim.com. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  7. ^ "Between Orient and Occident". carnegiehall.org. 2015-11-19. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  8. ^ a b "Cyrus the Great Symphonic Suite". sfgate.com. 2013-08-10. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  9. ^ "Världen i Konserthuset: East of Melancholy". gso.se. 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  10. ^ a b "Från öst till väst med Tara Kamangar". lira.se. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  11. ^ "Reopening of Merced Theatre gala on April 21 to feature array of music". mercedsunstar.com. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  12. ^ "Tara Kamangar in Concert at Cadogan Hall". peyman.org. 2007-05-03. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  13. ^ a b "Classical Billboard Chart". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  14. ^ "From Russia to Iran: Pianist Tara Kamangar Travels 'East of Melancholy'". wqxr.org. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  15. ^ "Classical Playlist: Gluck, Jonathan Biss, Morton Feldman and More". The New York Times. 2014-08-29. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  16. ^ "'East of Melancholy'". audaud.com. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  17. ^ "Shared Musical Traditions Of Russia And Iran In 'East Of Melancholy'". npr.org. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  18. ^ "American Record Guide Reviews East of Melancholy". delosmusic.com. 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  19. ^ "Tara Kamangar, Composer". imdb.com. 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  20. ^ "San Francisco Social Diary". newyorksocialdiary.com. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  21. ^ a b "Billboard Classical Albums". billboard.com. 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  22. ^ "Twinkle, Twinkle, 2 Bright Stars..." bar-ax.com. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  23. ^ "Kiosk: 'Hey Man, Pull Over'". pbs.org. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
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