[PENNSYLVANIA]
Center for
Iranian Music Opens
Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts has established the Center for Iranian Music (CFIM) to “create opportunities that support and promote the appreciation of Iranian music and its rich history,” according to Reza Vali, associate professor of 
composition at the School of Music and director of education and research for the center.
Vali and Dr. Bijan Elyaderani founded the center to preserve and promote Iranian music, including traditional music (the Datsgâh System), folk music (regional music of Iran), contemporary music, and commemorative and religious music.
The grand opening will be held at 8 p.m., Thursday, March 7, in the College of Fine Arts’ Alumni Concert Hall. The center will honor the Master of Santoor (Persian hammer dulcimer) Dr. Dariush Saghafi for his contribution to Iranian music and his dedication and support of the Iranian-American community in Pittsburgh. In addition, the opening night will feature performances by the renowned Carpe Diem String Quartet and Dr. Ramin Saghafi.
[SAN JOSE]
SJSU Presents: Classical Persian Music and Poetry Concert
Sunday March 10 San Jose State University will be hosting a concert of 
classical Persian music and poetry.
The event is hosted by Persian Studies at SJSU and will feature Mahvash Guerami and Hossein Massoudi with guest poets Mojdeh Marashi and Najia Karim.
The concert will be held in the Engineering Auditorium 189 at 3 p.m. Admission is free… sweets and teas will be available.
[LOS ANGELES]
2013 FARHANG SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
The Top 6 Nominees of 5th Annual Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival have officially been announced. They are And We Pass By (Iran), Distant Words (Australia), Karbafi (Iran), Khourosh Ali Khan: Jazz Fusion in Iran (USA), Namaki (Iran), and Rostam in WonderLand – Sohrab’s Blood (USA).
More than seventy submissions were received this year from all over the world, including the 
United States, Canada, Iran, Nepal, Armenia, France, United Kingdom, Australia, and Bangladesh, all competing for top honors at Farhang’s 2013 Short Film Festival and an opportunity to win $10,000 (first place), $5,000 (second place) or $3,000 (third place).
This year, the screening of the top six films, an award ceremony recognizing the top three films, and an exclusive reception in honor of the filmmakers, with a red carpet arrival, will take place on Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 6pm to 9pm at the Leo S. Bing Theater in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of Farhang Foundation’s two-day Nowruz festivitiesat the museum. Tickets for this special evening, co-sponsored by LACMA’s Art of the Middle East Contemporary and Farhang Foundation, are $35 for LACMA members and $45 for non-members. To purchase tickets or for additional information, visit www.lacma.org or www.farhangfilmfest.org
.
[LOS ANGELES]
Iranian Artist Now Part of MOCA’s Permanent Collection
The works of celebrated Iranian artist, Ali Banisadr, will officially go on display from February 10 – March 11, 2013 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) as part of the museum’s permanent collection exhibition entitled A Selection 
of Recent Acquisitions.
Ali Banisadr’sIt’s in the Air (2012) was gifted to MOCA by ThaddaeusRopac. The Day of the Last Judgment (2009) by ShojaAzari will also be displayed during the month-long exhibition. Safe Haven (2011) by Shiva Ahmadi will be exhibited in an upcoming recent acquisitions exhibition that opens in March. Both works were gifted to the museum by Leila Heller and are now a part of the museum’s permanent collection as well.
Banisadr’s works are housed in prestigious public collections worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Saatchi Gallery and the British Museum in London, among others.
www.ali-banisadr.com
[NEW YORK]
7th Annual PersianNew Year Celebration
NYC’s Persian Arts Festival, Inc. (PAF), an organization devoted to providing a platform for Persian artists and visionaries, joins forces with Le Poisson Rouge and other Persian cultural organizations to present a New Year extravaganza featuring Persian 
fusion from three of the city’s top-tiered bands.
The evening will be full of musical surprise and delight, featuring RanaFarhan’s unique blend of classic Persian poetry with contemporary jazz and blues, Vatan’s Persian-meets-country-rock sounds and a blast into the past with MitraSumara’s super group of New York City musicians that pay homage to the vibrant pop and funk music of 60s/70s Iran.
“Norooz”, literally translated as “New Day” in Farsi, is a holiday celebrated around the Spring Equinox by Persians, Kurds, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, Parsis, and other ethnic communities. Norooz not only marks the rejuvenation of the earth but it also allows people to gather and share in their unique traditions. New York City is the perfect city for the occasion, and the Persian Arts Festival Annual New Year Celebration is a guaranteed way to usher in the spring season with outstanding Persian traditional and contemporary arts and culture.
Visit persianartsfestival.org/