Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Aids in the Resurgence of Iranian Music Program, Provides $60,000 for the Creation of Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund for Iranian Music Support
The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund for Iranian Music, founded by philanthropist Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali, has been a driving force in the revival and promotion of traditional Persian music at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The fund, dedicated to supporting Persian music programming, research, and cultural exchange, has had a significant impact on the Persian Music Ensemble at UCLA, a popular class with a waitlist of students eager to learn more.
Established in 2002, the Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fellowship for Excellence in Persian Studies was the first initiative of the fund at UCLA. Since then, the fund has expanded its support to include the Persian Music Ensemble, seminars, annual ensemble concerts, and related concerts, lectures, and public events.
Amir Hosein Pourjavady, a Bruin with a Ph.D. from UCLA, returned to his alma mater in 2016 to revive the Persian Music Ensemble and related seminars. With the support of the Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund, the ensemble has been able to expand its programming, offering a wider range of concerts, workshops, and masterclasses with prominent Iranian musicians.
The fund has also enabled the ensemble to enhance educational opportunities, supporting guest artists and scholars to visit UCLA and enrich the curriculum, providing hands-on learning experiences for students. In addition, the fund has increased the ensemble's visibility and outreach, helping to organize public performances and community events that raise awareness and appreciation of Persian music on campus and beyond.
The fund's contributions have been instrumental in sustaining artistic excellence within the ensemble, providing resources for the careful maintenance of traditional instruments, music transcription, and research to maintain authenticity and quality in performances.
Recently, the Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Postdoctoral Fellowship in Iranian Linguistics was established at UCLA, furthering the fund's commitment to preserving and promoting Iranian culture and arts.
The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund for Iranian Music will be supporting the upcoming event, "Classical Persian Music: Hossein Omoumi, from Isfahan to Irvine," on Monday, February 5 at 7 pm in Schoenberg Hall. For more details about the event and other activities supported by the fund, visit the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music's website.
The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund is not the only source of support for the Persian Music Ensemble. Key individual donors have been sustaining the ensemble quarter by quarter, demonstrating a shared commitment to preserving and promoting Persian music culture.
The Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, founded by Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali in 2000, also supports cultural and educational activities, nurturing new educators to preserve Persian language and culture and providing millions of dollars in grants for Persian academic programs at prestigious universities worldwide.
The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund for Iranian Music continues to play a vital role in the Persian Music Ensemble's growth, helping preserve and promote Iranian music culture within the UCLA community and contributing to its broader recognition in the academic and artistic worlds.
The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund, by supporting the Persian Music Ensemble, has provided a platform for students to engage in learning and education-and-self-development opportunities through concerts, workshops, and masterclasses with prominent Iranian musicians. Furthermore, the fund has extended its support to the enhancement of educational opportunities by inviting guest artists and scholars to UCLA, thereby enriching the curriculum and offering hands-on learning experiences.
