Sahba Aminikia
His musical compositions have been widely performed around the world by ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect, Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Parnassus, San Francisco Conservatory of Music New Music Ensemble, Mobius Trio, Delphi Trio, Amaranth Quartet, The Living Earth Show, Verdigris Ensemble, Music Of Remembrance, One Found Sound, and the Afghanistan National Institute Of Music. Phonetic Planet is so grateful to the inspirational Sahba Aminikia for sharing his positive energy with us in a recent interview!
Art and culture can sometimes be more important than material necessities because we first need hope and beauty to survive, and art and culture provide that. - Sahba Aminikia
I can’t wait to hear more about the amazing projects you have initiated, Sahba, especially those dedicated to the needs of children. But before we get to that, let’s learn a little about your own childhood, if we may.
I grew up most of my life in Tehran, the capital of Iran. I was born in the 1980s, which means it was right after the Iranian Revolution and during the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq. I come from a family of Baha’is, a religion that originated in Iran in the 19th century, whose members are heavily persecuted even today. As a child, I grew up knowing that I was a second-class citizen, meaning that many rights my friends and peers had, such as going to university and staying in Iran, were not available to me.
Despite this, I had a loving family, which mattered the most. I have two older siblings, and my sister, the eldest, was always the lighthouse in my life. She introduced me to everything beautiful in the world: books, movies, music, art, and gentleness. Both my parents cared a lot about my education. They enrolled me in English classes, provided piano lessons, and ensured I attended very good schools in Tehran.
My father was a lawyer who lost his license for being a Baha’i at the beginning of the 1979 revolution, and my mother was a social worker who was fired from her job at the hospital for the same reason. Despite their differences, they were responsible parents who always protected their children and never separated from each other. They ensured we always had a roof over our heads, enough food to eat, and a good education. In many ways, I grew up in a very privileged family.
People often divide memories into good and bad ones. For some reason, I am unable to do so. For me, all memories are beautiful; sometimes, sadness makes a memory even more beautiful. Like everyone else, I have memories of a normal childhood, playing with friends in the neighborhood, and so on. However, from early childhood, my parents constantly reminded me that I was privileged. They told me there were many children in the world who didn't have parents or lived in poverty, and that I should never flaunt what I had or show affection to my parents in front of children who didn’t have that. I see this as a blessing, and I am so proud of my parents for raising me with such awareness.
I remember when I was about 8 or 9, my father was arrested and jailed for about two months. We had no idea where he was or which branch of the government had arrested him. He was the lawyer for many Baha’i families who escaped Iran right after the revolution, and the government was looking for documents related to them to confiscate their belongings. After a month and a half of searching everywhere, one night my father suddenly showed up at home. I remember his beard was very long since they didn’t let him shave in jail. After hugging everyone, he went to the bathroom to shave his beard. I remember sitting next to him, watching him carefully shave with those old razors and homemade foams. He looked at me in the mirror and said, “You know, when I was in jail, I missed you the most. I even remembered that song from the TV that you always sing, and that kept me alive in solitary confinement.” In that moment, I think I loved him the most.
The unique magic of The Flying Carpet Festival
These days, you are based far away from the country of your birth. How did life lead you to where you currently live?
I have been living in San Francisco, California for the last 20 years. I am a former refugee. I studied in Russia for a year and a half, then went to Turkey, where I applied for refugee status and immigrated to the United States. Baha’i young people are still deprived of human rights in Iran, including the right to higher education. I wanted to finish my studies, and in Iran, that was not possible. So, I came to San Francisco in 2006 and continued my education at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for six years until I obtained my master’s degree in composition. I have lived in San Francisco ever since.
Sahba, you are an acclaimed composer, among your many accolades! Can you tell us about your multimedia work “The Language of the Birds”? including how you were inspired to create a piece of this kind?
I guess I’ve been very lucky and very privileged. I have created around 85 works and projects in the United States, all with the help of my friends and people who appreciate my music. The classical music scene is a unique market, primarily glorifying European culture, and yet it’s the only musical education system in the world that is widely encouraged and revered. I use contemporary music as a medium to communicate with people and remind them that there are cultures older than European ones. For example, the place I come from has about 4,000 years of written history, poetry, art, science, and music.
"The Language of the Birds" was the result of a 5-month residency at 836M Gallery in San Francisco from January to May 2024. The project was offered to me as a commission, and I brought in many friends from the San Francisco Bay Area scene to enrich the experience. My collaborators included my friend and librettist Zara Houshmand, Valerie Saint-Agathe and her San Francisco Girls Chorus, Travis Andrews and Andrew Meyerson from the SF-based duo The Living Earth Show, British multi-instrumentalist David Coulter, video artist John Sanborn, and Persian vocalist Marjan Vahdat.
The story of "The Language of the Birds" (Mantiq-al-Tayr) is a 12th-century Sufi poetry book by Attar Neishaburi, who was a mentor of Rumi. The story, which has roots in even older times, tells of a group of birds who are tired of daily life and decide to embark on a journey under the leadership of a prophet-like hoopoe. They go through seven valleys to find the legendary bird Simurgh. Each valley represents losing a stage of ego and selfishness until, in the end, the remaining 30 birds realize that the legendary bird is, in fact, themselves.
My musical works always respond to current events, and this one is no exception. At a time when selfishness seems to be the code for humanity, I believe thinking about others and separating ourselves from ego, racism, sexism, and tribalism can be refreshing.
I don’t think any political or social progress is sustainable without spiritual development. Without ethics and values, there is no point in pursuing materialistic progress since it’s easily reversible, as we witness today. Every value humanity fought for after World War II is now being questioned again and again. So, we haven’t made much progress.
The piece premiered in May in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. I left SF afterward for Turkey to prepare for the Flying Carpet Festival in September.
Now, let’s talk a little about The Flying Carpet Festival…
The Flying Carpet Festival is a project that I initiated in 2018 in collaboration with a Turkish NGO in the city of Mardin, in southeast Turkey, near the border of Syria, where millions of Syrian refugees are resettled. This region is generally underserved. The Turkish NGO I work with is a prominent social circus school named Sirkhane (meaning "the house of circus"), which works with very vulnerable young adults and children, empowering them through circus arts, music, and photography.
The Flying Carpet Festival is a 12-day festival and artist residency. Every year, around 300-400 people send us about 200 applications to be part of the festival, and out of them, only around 30 are chosen to come to Mardin. These selected artists create life-changing storytelling experiences for children, hold workshops, and interact with the local population. This year, we are working on the 6th edition of the Flying Carpet Festival, focusing on the same story I worked on in San Francisco, "The Language of the Birds." Around 30 artists from 17 countries are attending the festival this year to craft a magical experience for the children.
The impact of the arts on traumatized children is evident; otherwise, we wouldn’t have thousands of cultural organizations in more privileged countries. However, when it comes to refugees or vulnerable communities, we almost forget they exist, as if arts and culture are only for privileged children and the top 1% of society. We are bringing arts and culture, not just entertainment, to vulnerable and refugee communities, making them accessible to everyone, not just the educated or the rich.
Currently, I am in Mardin, working with a small choir of children to prepare them for the festival so they can sing in our performance. These children come from a very underprivileged community around Mardin, a small city with ruined houses provided to Syrian refugees after many were released from refugee camps in Turkey. Since the Syrian war, around 3.7 million refugees have been living in Turkey, who are not authorized to work and are kept in Turkey because of a deal European countries made with Turkey to avoid "bad publicity" at the borders.
Our Flying Carpet Festival is for those children whom no one else cares about. Every year, we bring world-class artists to work with the children and create something beautiful with them and for their communities. You can read more about us at: www.flyingcarpetfestival.org
Sahba, it’s been a pleasure to have this conversation with you. Can you leave us with a last comment regarding your belief in the power of the arts to touch the hearts of children in a powerful way?
I believe every child in the world has the right to culture and the arts, regardless of their geography, ethnicity, or socio-economic background. Art and culture can sometimes be more important than material necessities because we first need hope and beauty to survive, and art and culture provide that.
Find out more about Sahba’s associated projects at the links below.