Mehdi Jalali
Composer, Conductor and Instrumentalist (1980, Tehran)

Mehdi Jalali

Jalali is one of the co-founders of Yarava Music Group. He has learned Iranian traditional music since 1996 under the supervision of Hamid-Reza Mohseni, Mohammad Zolnouri, Jalal Zolfonoun, Masoud Shaari, and Taher Yarveysi and has participated in several Hossein Alizadeh masterclasses. He studied music theory, composing, conducting and electronic music under the supervision of Babak Aleheidar, Alireza Mashayekhi, Shahrokh Khajenouri, Manouchehr Sahbai and Joachim Heintz.

He has worked with Walter Nussbaum, Susanne Zapf, Eva Zöllner, Catherine Larsen Maguire, Ulrike Brand, Matthias Bauer, Margrit Kern, ensemble unitedberlin, Sonar Quartet and ...  as a performer and composer. 

Jalali is one of the figures of contemporary music in Iran. As a soloist or conductor, he has premiered more than fifty works of Contemporary composers such as Fozie Majd, Helmut Zapf, Mohsen Mirmehdi, Alireza Mashayekhi, Shahrokh Khajenouri, Tobias Klich, Farzia Fallah, Ali Gorji, Kiawasch SahebNassagh, Arsalan Abedian, Ornólfur Elden Pórsson, Madjid Tahriri, etc and many works have been written for him.

Jalali is co-founder of Electroacoustic Music Composition Competition “Reza Korourian Awards” and director of “Tehran International Electronic Music Festival” (TIEMF).

He has participated in several festivals in Germany, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and China. Among them, it can mention the performance at the 66th Venice Biennale.

He has also introduced Tanbour extended technique in his seminars in different universities such as Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Cologne University of Music and Dance, Basel Academy of Music, Freiburg University of Music, Center for World Music (CWM) of the University of Hildesheim, etc.

More than forty articles and reviews of him have been published in specialized music magazines such as “Art of Music”, “Music Report Journal”, “Zangar” and “Aftabnet Magazine”.

He has also published three books entitled “Entezar” and “Maral” (a collection of pieces for setar), and Ten Etudes for Ukulele.

A collection of contemporary Iranian music works conducted by Jalali has been recorded, part of which has been released as two albums by YMG Records.