About

Stay Close is a ten-month project harnessing contemporary classical music as a means of cultural exchange between the UK and Iran. Following research periods in both Iran and the UK, a new piece of music will be produced that will consider ethnic identity in the UK through the lens of the Iranian-British community.

The aims of this project will be achieved in four stages. Stage 1 involves a month-long research trip to Iran where composer Soosan Lolavar will work with musicians connected to Hermes Records, a record company promoting contemporary and avant-garde classical music in Iran.

On her return, stage 2 involves an 8-week workshop with members of the Iranian Youth Development Association in Woolwich. Through these sessions the composer will encourage participants (with ages ranging from 11 to 60) to consider and represent their ethnic identity through sound and language.

At the third stage of the project, the composer will draw on these two periods of research to create a new 20-minute piece of music which will draw on both Western and Iranian classical musics and be played by a range of musicians, including those from the London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future Firsts Scheme.

At the fourth stage of the project the new piece will be performed at two venues across London. First at V&A, Raphael Gallery on 11th April 2014, 8-9.30pm. This event will take place in conjunction with the third edition of the prestigious Jameel Prize, an international art prize for contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design. The second concert will take place at the Music Department of City University London on 20th May 2014, 7-8.30pm. This will follow a one-day conference on Middle Eastern music practices at which project leader and composer Soosan Lolavar will give a lecture on Stay Close.