The Responsibility of Connection

On Saturday, October 15, the International Contemporary Ensemble presents “Peyvand (پیوند),” a program of works featuring the ensemble (currently celebrating its 20th anniversary). What began as a collaboration between IntCE with Composers Now and the Cheswatyr Foundation—which commissioned a work by Niloufar Nourbakhsh to honor the life and legacy of philanthropist Cece Wasserman—grew into a program of nine works by members of the Iranian Female Composers Association (which Nourbakhsh cofounded in 2017). The program’s title takes its name from the Persian word for “connectivity.” 

The idea of connection hits home after the last several weeks in Iran, where protests erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini while she was detained by the country’s morality police. Since then, global protests have continued in both the name of Amini and those who were killed during the demonstrations in Iran. While this wasn’t the initial reason that I wanted to speak with the composers featured on IntCE’s program, it was impossible to avoid the subject. During a Zoom roundtable, Nourbakhsh, fellow IFCA cofounders Anahita Abbasi and Aida Shirazi, and IFCA members Bahar Royaee and Niloufar Shiri spoke about approaching this concert in light of the latest news cycle, the common themes that run through their works, what it was like to pursue musical education as women in Iran, and how their identity shapes their music.