as if we are all

Overview

“As if we are all…” is an interdisciplinary art project that uses music, acting, and participatory decision-making to explore issues of human rights in Iran and our modern world. The project invites viewers to engage with these issues in a unique and thought-provoking way, by creating an immersive and emotionally engaging experience that encourages critical thinking and inspires action.

One of the most important aspects of the project is its use of music and sound. The sound installation and music will be composed based on Iranian traditional music, along with live electronics. Based on the audiences’ choices throughout the performance, the musical options will change to create an affective resonance of the tensions and narratives that the participants have created.

The decision-making process will happen simultaneously during the performance. Each audience member will receive a QR code at the beginning of the performance and they will answer questions online. The majority will decide what narrative the performers and musicians should take, creating a unique and unpredictable experience for each performance.

About the Artist

Sepehr Pirasteh is a composer, conductor, and activist born in Shiraz, Iran. His compositions draw on Persian classical and folk as well as contemporary classical music vocabularies to express his concerns and fears about the political and social realities of the world we are living in. Sepehr's works have been performed by ensembles such as Argus String Quartet, PRISM saxophone quartet, Pushback Ensemble, Unheard-of Ensemble, Orquestra Criança Cidadã, Hole in the floor, fivebyfive, and members of the Fifth House Ensemble. He has been commissioned by Susan Horvath Chamber Music, ENA chamber opera ensemble, Philadelphia Student Composers Project, Detroit Composers’ Project, YInMn project, Pushback Collective, Fresh Inc. Festival, Yara Ensemble, Central Michigan University’s (CMU) Percussion Ensemble, and the CMU Saxophone Ensemble. His music has been performed in Argentina, Brazil, Iran and the United States. Sepehr has also been a fellow in festivals and residencies such as Harvard University's Fromm Foundation Fellowship (Composers Conference), CCI Initiative, and Fresh Inc Festival. Sepehr currently is a Ph.D. student in Music Studies at Temple University. He pursued his MM in Composition and Orchestral Conducting at Central Michigan University. Sepehr received his BA in Composition from Tehran University of Art (Iran).