If Sherzadeh met Chopin, Tania’s music is born.
Tania came to this country when she was five. And in many ways she was a typical immigrant. Her desire at a young age was to compose the music of her past with America and its sophisticated classical progressions. In essence she indirectly engaged the Persian community with her music, becoming perhaps a cultural avatar. She approached her music with the understanding that it’s a challenge for tradition to survive without acknowledging its new environment. But much pushing against cultural norms was her challenge in the early 1990’s.
There is often a euphoric reaction when listeners engage with Tania’s music.
She has immersed herself in Persian music and wants to preserve it. “My objective is to provide the cultural wherewithal for future generations.” Translation: She hoped to lead a syncretic movement, combining Persian classical music with contemporary idioms, so that young people could welcome tradition into their lives. What people always say is that despite the modernity “you could still hear our music. It’s there, just updated.”
She knew there were purists who would never condone tampering with tradition. But might they understand that preserving traditions in amber risked losing them altogether?
She preserves this old sound by running it through a kaleidoscope; it would continue to change but still be recognizable. As to the practicalities of starting—that is, leading—a chamber group, thru much experimentation and shows her ensemble has captured that unique sound that in essence is authentically Tania‘s. She develops people’s ear for Persian musicality, “I don’t want people just to just play notes,” she said. “I want them to think in the idiom.”
So she turned assimilation back on itself. She accepted it, and now assimilates Persian and Western culture. Tania’s story represents a type of cultural adaptation. She understands the self-preservation of her ethnicity in a new land- America. She has offered change but it is not inconsistent with still supporting continuity. It requires maintaining a fine balance.