2021 William Thomas McKinley Memorial
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About The Commissioned Composer
The music of Iranian-American composer Badie Khaleghian has been called “well-crafted, attractive modern score” (ARTSATL). His compositions are wide-ranging in influence and inspiration, encompassing solo, chamber, orchestral, and electro-acoustic works. Khaleghian’s music is influenced by his Middle Eastern background, his social justice activism, and his passion for collaboration. His recent works explores the idea of defining self-identity through close collaboration with musicians, artists, and scientists. Khaleghian’s music has been performed in Iran, United States, Austria, Italy, and Canada. Due to his religious background, he was banned from public higher education in Iran, but he studied, taught, and created music major for persecuted Bahá’ís in Iran. In 2014 he came to US as a religious refugee. At US, he received his bachelor and master’s degree in music composition from University of Georgia, and currently perusing his DMA in music composition at Rice University.