Mastaneh Nazarian

Lives in MA, United States

Mastaneh Nazarian graduated in 1995 with a BA in Professional Music (Guitar and Composition) from Berklee College of Music. She studied composition and orchestration with Gerard Brophy and Electro-acoustic composition with Rodolphe Blois at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music where she earned a Masters of Music degree in Composition in 2001.

Mastaneh has been performing as a guitarist leading her own groups since 1992. Her groups work on a collaborative structure that feature Mastaneh's compositions and arrangements. Her pieces for small improvising ensemble are based on jazz principles and capture a unique and personal narrative style. As a songwriter, she aims to compose both music and words as a united whole, often incorporating improvisation.

Since 1998 Mastaneh has worked as a freelance audio editor, film and theatre composer and project organizer in addition to her performance and teaching activities. In 1999 one of Mastaneh's compositions was performed at the International Guitar Festival in Darwin. In 2000 she was one of 18 composers who were invited to the Tufts University Talloire International Composers Conference. She has composed for various chamber settings from wind quintet to large mixed ensembles. As an electronic music artist/sound designer she has worked with theatre directors, choreographers, and lighting designers. In 2001 Mastaneh composed and produced music for two short films that were featured at various venues in the Brisbane area. In 2002 she was one of the few sound artists nationwide to receive a commission from the Australian Broadcasting Company's Listening Room program, a project celebrating ABC's 70th year. As a project organizer she has launched Cadiz Composers Ensemble, a multi-stylistic composers collective. She was involved with programming a weekly original jazz and world music concert series at Club Tropical, located in Culver City, California. Currently residing in Boston, Mastaneh has released a recording of compositions for jazz guitar trio with Kafka Pony.