Behzad Ranjbaran

Music Theory and Analysis faculty member Behzad Ranjbaran was born in Tehran, Iran. He has received grants and awards from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, Meet the Composer (Composer/Choreographer project), American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Rudolf Nissim Award (ASCAP), and National Endowment for the Arts. He is composer in residence at Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival, and with Fort Worth Symphony.

Ranjbaran’s compositions include a flute concerto commissioned and premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra (Jeffrey Khaner, flute); a piano concerto premiered by Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Atlanta Symphony; Saratoga Overture premiered by Charles Dutoit and the Philadelphia Orchestra; The Blood of Seyavash for the Nashville Ballet; Songs of Eternity, premiered by Renée Fleming and the Seattle Symphony; a violin concerto premiered by Joshua Bell and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Gerard Schwarz; Elegy performed by Yo-Yo Ma and the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by JoAnn Falletta; Persian Trilogy recorded by London Symphony under Falletta; a cello concerto for Paul Tobias; Open Secret, based on texts by Rumi, for chorus and chamber orchestra; Awakening for Sejong Soloists; and numerous orchestral, choral, and chamber music pieces. He is published by Theodore Presser Co. and recordings of his work have been released by Naxos, Delos, Albany, and Cala.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, his master’s and doctoral degrees from Juilliard, and studied composition with Joseph Schwantner, Vincent Persichetti, and David Diamond. Ranjbaran has been a faculty member since 1998.