ADIB GHORBANI

Pianist | Composer | Actor | Director | Filmmaker | Electronic musician | Producer | Writer | Educator


About

Adib Ghorbani is an Iranian pianist, composer, filmmaker, and actor based in the United States. After earning a Bachelor's degree in classical piano performance and a Master's in music composition, Adib leaves his country, Iran, for the United States to pursue his studies as a Ph.D. student in the ICIT program (Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology) at UC Irvine. Adib’s Ph.D. project was called 'Silent Music,' an integration of live music, theater, film, and motion sensors. In addition to his endeavors on silence and interdisciplinary works, his works span a wide variety of other forms, such as songwriting and sound design. Adib's songs played a crucial role as anthems during the Women Life Freedom Revolution in Iran, chanted by  countless Iranian protests worldwide. He currently works as a freelance artist, creating, performing, and teaching in Los Angeles.


Filmmaker, Actor, and Sound Artist

Silent Music, a film by Adib

Silent Music is a collection of four short films showing an artist who is trying to make a film about a prison massacre. Silent Music depicts artist suppression and censorship by the combination of surreal and real sonic/visual elements. Silence is the principal theme that appears musically, theatrically, and conceptually. The primary musical instrument used is a small hand-worn motion sensor that tracks the movements of the performer, and creates the required sounds in real-time as well as playing the grand piano remotely.


Year: 2021

Irvine, California

Elecronic Musician/Performer

Six pieces for Motion Sensors

These six pieces were created with the goal of integrating theater, live music-making, sound design, and motion sensors. In these pieces I tried to explore the possibilities that arise when I use my body as a musical instrument. This interdisciplinary project utilizes body movements to generate sounds in real-time. For this purpose, I wear gloves with embedded wireless motion sensors. The data receiving from the sensors is used for three purposes; to generate real-time synthesized sounds through a MAX/MSP patch , to trigger prerecorded samples, and to process my real-time voice. 


Year: 2019-2020 

(These pieces are all made through the COVID-19 pandemic)

Irvine, California

Pianist/Improviser

Solo Concert

This is a free improvisation using a variety of instruments, including the piano, drums, and some wind and string instruments that I have collected/played over the years; including a small lyre and a Ney-Taki (from South of Iran). In free improvisation, I attempt to make each event distinct while maintaining a strong structure using sounds and silent moments.

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Solo improvisation concert - Irvine, California, xMPL theater hall, 2020.

Saboo Quartet

Title - The End of the Story

Piano/composer - Adib Ghorbani, Violin and Electronics - soheilshay, Bass - jobergerac , Drums - aknudsrod, 

2017, Niavaran, Tehran, Iran

Duo with Kamancheh

Piano - Adib Ghorbani, Kamancheh - Mohammad Karbalaei

2019, Pars Hall, Tehran, Iran

Dance 

Waeli Wang improvising on a piece by Adib G. and Soheil Shayesteh

You can find the music here

Telematic improvisation

This is a live recording that took place via the internet between two sites. One in Amsterdam and the other in California. 

Performing in Irvine, California, Adib Ghorbani - piano, Performing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Soheil Shayesteh - Kamancheh

Theatrical Music Pieces

The Clowny Sky

Clowny Sky is a multidisciplinary project involving music, mime and the technology of motion sensors. In this piece the principal performer is equipped with gloves which have embedded motion sensors and his hand movements produce the music required for the performance. The story of 'Clowny Sky' tells the story of an elderly clown who refuses to perform for his masters.The narrative refers to the discriminations against performers in totalitarian societies.

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2019 - Winifred Smith Hall, University of California, Irvine

Ten Musical Skits for Pianist and Electronicist

Eight Musical Skits for Pianist and Electronicist is an interdisciplinary project involving theater, music and technology. The score consists of improvised music, pre-composed music and acting. These skits focus on subjects including today’s sociopolitical issues, immigration and contemporary artistry. 

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Performed in SLSA Conference 2019, Irvine, California

Six Caricatures

Caricatures are usually a drawing, writing or spoken description that depicts someone's character through hyperbolic exaggeration of details. The aim of these caricatures is to criticize violence against female performers/athletes. As a part of this parody, the performers embody a spectrum of juxtaposed characters.

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Winifred Smith Hall, Irvine, California, 2018

Nine Caricatures

Caricatures are usually a drawing, writing or spoken description that depicts someone's character through hyperbolic exaggeration of details. Nine caricatures are based on the 1988 chemical attack in Halabja. This bitter parody attempts to convey the costs of war through a metaphoric atmosphere. 

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Performed in 2018,  xMPL theater, UC Irvine, California

Three Miniatures

'Three Miniatures' is composed for LoadBang quartet in 2017. These works are based on sociopolitical themes and human rights and include theater, voice acting, and music.

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Perfomerd in 2018, UC Irvine, California


Scores

From Ten Skits for Pianist and Electronicict - 2019

Watch

From Ten Skits for Pianist and Electronicist - 2019

From Solo for Violin - perfomerd by Mioi Takeda - 2021

From Golhay-e Ghorbat No.0 Performed and recorded by Del Sol Quartet - 2019

Listen

From Golhay-e Ghorbat No.0 - 2019 

From 3 Miniatures for LoadBang Ensemble - 2018

Listen

From Concerto for Piano & Strings - 2017

Listen

From a Septet called Turmoil - 2012

From a Sixtet called My City - 2016

Listen

From Variations for Flute & Piano - 2015

As a Teacher

Tehran - 2019

Tehran - 2019

Shiraz - 2018

Shahriar - 2017

Guest lecturer, Pitzer College in Claremont, California​, ​2019

Post Pandemic online classes at University of California, Irvine, 2020

Talks and Lectures

UCI Brain Initiative Launch Event - Neuro-Immersion Demo

UCI Brain is an academic initiative that fosters interdisciplinary interactions about our understanding of the brain. During the UCI Brain launch event in November 2019, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts participated in a demonstration to help illuminate one of the initiative’s cross-cutting themes centered on the arts entitled, The Artistic Brain. 

My project studies the immersion level of the audience in two different types of music performances wherein one the audience is passive and in the other active. For this experiment, I composed a piece in two parts. The first part is a solo piano improvisation wherein the audience is passive and the second part is a musical improvisatory game that engages the audience to make music altogether.

Presentation by Adib Ghorbani

PhD thesis, Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology program

2020, UC Irvine, California.

Online Educational Content

Online Courses in Farsi

Watch

Topic: 'Time' in Music Education

Discussing time and how it matters in the methods of teaching classical music.

Watch

Topic: New approaches in teaching music 

A critique of prior pedagogical methods for teaching music, in Iran. Suggestions on how to teach students during their first steps of learning music. 

Watch

Topic: Sexual Harassment: Better Training and Protection in music classes. 

Discussing how teachers and music schools can help protecting children. Discussing the role and the importance of  improvisation in teaching music. 


Watch

Topic: Silence

Discussing the role and the importance of silence in sound art. How to build community. The effect of western music on new sounds in Iran. 

Documentary about Adib

Perse is a project about current Iranian music. It is a cultural travel built to meet musicians from Iran and all over the world. It presents artists who share their roots, influences and passion. This episode is about Adib. (2016)


Publications

NIME 2021

What happened in Panop by Adib Ghorbani. Published by NIME 2021.

New Interfaces for Musical Expression, also known as NIME, is an international conference about musical expression and artistic performance.

Kooch-e Khamân

An Album by Del Sol Quartet - 2021

Label ‏ : ‎ Jordan Center for Persian Studies

Žhâ

Soheil Shayesteh (feat. Adib Ghorbani & Rashin Teimouri)

℗ 2020 Dronic Records

Released on: 2020-10-20

Posters

Posters for Portfolio

Images

Images for Portfolio

Awards