Amir Eslami
Amir Eslami was born in Esfahan, Iran, in 1971, and started his music career by playing Ney (Persian traditional flute) since 1987. He received his BA in music in 1997 and an MA in music composition in 2003. Amir has been a faculty member in the Music Faculty of the Art University of Tehran from 2005 to 2018. He has won 3 national prizes and 3 international prizes (Italy, Australia, and Netherlands) in music composition. He has released 6 music albums as a composer and 18 music albums as a Ney player. His album, “All of You”, was released in 2011 which received a 4 out of 5-star rating in Song Lines Magazine, volume 75, in London in 2011. Amir presented a lecture recital titled “A New Approach to Improvisation in Persian Music” based on this album at the University of London in 2010 and at Cambridge University in 2011. He received the “Best Lecturer” award from the Music Faculty of the Art University of Tehran in 2008 and the “Best Researcher” award in 2009. He was a jury member in the “2 Agosto International Composition Competition” in Bologna in 2012. Amir’s pieces have been performed in Iran, Italy, Australia, USA, Netherlands, and Canada.
His piece “Ghalandar” has performed by Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra (VICO) in 2018. He established Iranian Music Society of BC (IMSBC) with a group of musicians in 2018 in Vancouver which has more than 100 members now. Also, Amir established Hazar Ava Ensemble with 3 female singers which its first album is “The Secret of Nightingale’s Song” in September 2019 by Rumi Records. In 2020 by starting the pandemic around the world, he started online classes with Vancouver Iranian Choir and produced 8 music videos. Amir has joined the Naadaleela Ensemble in 2021 which has been stablished by Curtis Andrews to perform multicultural music from Iran, China, Taiwan, India, and Canada. Also, he is the jury member of Canadian Folk Music Awards since 2021.
Amir Eslami
Persian Ney and Music Composition Instructor
The newest album is “The Memory of a Sweetheart” based on Dr. Mehdi Meshgini’s poems published in 2022 by Rumi Records. Also, his latest music “Ney & Orchestra in 3 movements” has been performed by Lionsgate Sinfonia Orchestra on April 2, 2022, to celebrate the Nowruz (Persian New Year). Amir has started to teach composition in Capilano University to the jazz students since September 2022. Also, he has established Multicultural Wind Ensemble in 2022 in Vancouver.
Awards & Honors & Memberships
- First Grade Companion with Foozhan Ensemble, at the 1st World music Festival, Ney player: Amir Eslami, Tehran (1998)
- First Grade Iranian Ensemble, the 4th Festival of Nationwide Students of Music, Tehran University of Technology, Leader, and composer: Amir Eslami, Tehran (2003)
- Commendation Tablet, the 5th Nationwide Students’ Festival, Tehran (2004)
- The Best Lecturer in Music Faculty, Art University, Tehran (2008)
- Third Prize in Composition, the Olympic Song Composition Competition, Iran Olympic Academy, Tehran (2008)
- First Prize of International Composition Competition 2 Agosto, Bologna, Italy (2009)
- The Best Researcher in Music Faculty, Art University, Tehran (2009)
- Third Prize of International Composition Competition Shakuhachi Chamber Music, Melbourne, Australia (2010)
- The 4 Stars for “All of You” (Music Album) in “Song lines Magazine” Volume 75, London (2011)
- The member of jury meeting in the international composition competition "2 Agosto", 18th Edition from Friday June 15 to Sunday June 17 (2012)
cont.
- The faculty member and composition teacher in the 20th Anniversary “Ameropa solo master classes and chamber music festival and courses” in Prague, Czech, from 20th July to 10th August (2013)
- Honorable mention; work recommended for recording during the Atlas Academy Composition Competition for Piece for Dialogue among Cultures, Atlas Academy, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2014)
- The member of Book Council in Tehran Art University (2014)
- The member of jury meeting in the composition competition "Ahmad Pejman Biennial Composition Contest", 1st Edition, Tehran, Iran (2015)
- The music producer in “Aram-e Jan” radio program in Vancouver Co-op radio, Vancouver, Canada (2015)
- The board of Vancouver Iranian Choir, Vancouver, Canada (2016)
- The founder of Hazar Ava Ensemble, Vancouver, Canda (2016)
- The founder of Rumi Records, Vancouver, Canda (2016)
cont.
- The board of Iranian Music Society of BC, Vancouver, Canada (2018)
- The board of Mohseni Foundation, Vancouver, Canada (2019)
- The Juror in Canadian Folk Music Awards, Canada (2021)
- The member of Naadaleela Ensemble, Vancouver, Canada (2021)
- The music instructor in Capilano University, Vancouver, Canada (2022)
- The founder of Multicultural Wind Ensemble, Vancouver, Canada (2022)
