Composer born in Iran and based in Italy and the Netherlands. Rouzbeh Rafie's musical research concentrates on achieving a sound that is archaic and yet contemporary and giving shape to it by creating forms that attempt to assimilate the labyrinthine behaviour of memory, which he calls “paths of memory”. This research leads to a particular focus on concepts like archetypes, memory, and perception of time and is inspired by different sources such as the notion of structuralism, the theory of chaos, folklore music, and literature.
Education:
He received formal musical training at the Tehran university of art with Sharif Lotfi and Kiawasch SahebNassagh. Later in 2011, he moved to Rome to study with Rosario Mirigliano at Rome Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, and from 2015 he studied at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia with Ivan Fedele and in 2018 he graduated from it with the maximum mark. He attended masterclasses with Salvatore Sciarrino (2014-2015 at Respighi Conservatory), Tolibkhon Shakhidi, Khayyam Mirzazadeh, Tuivo Tulev (2014), and Giacomo Manzoni (2017).
Music:
His music has travelled across the world through concerts and festivals: Parco Della Musica (Rome), Nuova Consonanza Festival (Rome), Musica Nova festival (Helsinki), Rome Philharmonic (Sala Casella), Solti hall (Budapest), Roudaki Hall (Tehran) Festival Contrasti (Trento) Dumke recital hall (Salt Lake City, Utah), Mar del Plata Philharmonic (Argentina), New Music Miami Festival, Sala Academica (Rome), Austrian cultural forum (Rome), Collège franco-britannique (Paris) and Prague microfest.
In 2021 after being chosen as a winner of Kokonainen-Musequal composition competition he has been nominated as "Composer in Residence" at Musequal (Finland) from 2021 to 2023.
Performers:
His music has been performed by different Ensembles, like Ensemble Contemporanea di Parco Della Musica (ECPM) conducted by Tonino Battista, Ensemble 900 conducted by Carlo Rizzari, Trio 3:0, Ensemble Imago Sonora, Ensemble Nivak, MP Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Moto Contrario, Sonar trio, Ensemble Aural and by musicians such as Paolo Ravaglia (Clarinet), Gianni Trovalusci (flute), Bianca Fiorito (flute), Ginevra Petrucci (Flute), Sara Minelli (Flute), Rebecca Taio (Flute), Kelariz Keshavarz (Flute), Daniele Dian (Clarinet), Emanuele Dalmaso (Saxophone), Patricia Ibáñez (Violin), Annabelle Berthomé Reynolds (Violin), Daniele Moroni (Conductor) and Jacopo Lazzaretti (Guitar).
He collaborated on different theatrical productions as a composer with Corinna Lenneis and Éva Patkó.
Awards and recognitions:
- Winner of "Adriana Giannuzzi" study prize - Rome Conservatoire 2013
- Second prize of “G.Petrassi” composition competition (3rd. edition) for solo guitar, Rome 2014
-Selected piece of the eighth New Music Miami Festival (NMMF) call for scores for "Five Haiku duets" - Miami beach 2019
-Selected piece of Concept Ensemble international call for scores, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Australia, 2020
-Selected piece of MicroFest Prague 2020 call for scores.
- Winner of «Ennio Porrino» International Composition Competition- Monte Argentario, Italy, 2020
- First prize of Musequal composition competition, Finland, Helsinki February 2021
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