MEME: Talking with Arjang Khorzad

Arjang at a MEME Rehearsal

     The Persian Concert of Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (MEME) of the University of Chicago is coming up this weekend: Saturday, February 29th. The Persian Concert is so popular it is the only MEME concert that has two performances. Usually, we do them on successive days. This year, both performances will on the same day at 3 pm and 7 pm.
     As usual, our Maestro Wanees Zarour has prepared and arranged wonderful selections. We have been practicing for seven weeks in preparation and are ready to go. This 2019 – 2020 season started with Turkish Concert in November and will finish with the Arab Concert on May 23. The Ensemble is doing amazingly well. We are 40+ members strong and the musicianship is at the highest level it has been in the few short years I have been part of this wonderful group. We fill the auditorium at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Performing Arts for each concert. 
     As is my habit, I like to feature a musician or two in this blog before every concert. I do this for three reasons. Frist, I am trying to create some more buzz and excitement for the concert. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, through these profiles, I am slowly providing a history of MEME. Lastly, penning these profiles allows me to really get to know my fellow MEME members much better. 
     For previous Persian Concerts, I have profiled our gifted singer Gilda Amini, tar player and singer Elham Behesti, cellist Hannah Vis, and percussionist Oya Dubay. For this concert, I was fortunate enough for to spend some time with Arjang Khorzad. 
     Arjang is the quiet force of the Persian Concert. He is a soft-spoken and humble gentleman. But, as they say about still waters, Arjang is a wealth of information and talking with him is both a pleasure and an opportunity to learn. He plays the tar very well, advises Wanees on the selection of pieces, and an inspiration to everyone in MEME.

How did you get into this music? Tell me your story. Was the music all around you when you grew up. Did you start off with middle eastern music or western music? 

I grew up in the 1980s, following the 1979 revolution, in Iran. At that time, music was not tolerated through the mainstream media, however people somehow found ways to access it. Growing up, I never saw any musical performances on TV. Classical Persian music was still played occasionally on the radio, as it was one of the few genres that was somewhat accepted, however, my parents and relatives didn’t really listen to that kind of music. I was mostly exposed to western pop and love songs, which we watched on the VCR but as I got older, I didn’t relate to the pop songs anymore and began listening to heavy metal. Looking back, I now see that there’s a resemblance between heavy metal riffs and power chords and the folk music of Iran (particularly dotar music of Khorasan or tanbur music of western Iran).

Gradually my music interests shifted to progressive rock and I listened to a lot of 60’s and 70’s rock bands. Later, through a couple of friends (one being a big Mohammed-Reza Shajarian fan and the other a fantastic santoor player and composer), I was introduced to classical

Arjang's artwork used in the poster
for the 2018 Persian Concert

Iranian music and mainly Shajarian’s works. The modes and melodies sounded so familiar as if I had listened to them all my life. I loved it! I used to admire rock stars like Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, but then I was blown away by these Iranian musicians that no one knew about outside of Iran. I became very passionate about classical Persian music and decided to learn the tar. I took some lessons, but then, after a couple of years, I moved to Chicago and didn’t think I would be able to continue.

Then in 2008, I learned about the Middle East Music Ensemble through a friend. A couple of other Iranian friends and I joined the ensemble. We were the first group of Iranian members at MEME. Issa Boulos, who was the director then, asked us to prepare a couple of Persian songs to play in the Turkish concert that year. The following year, he added a Persian concert! He really supported us, and I greatly appreciate that. I learned a lot from him and the other members. 

Which of the three MEME concerts is your favorite (Turkish, Persian, or Arab)? How do you relate to the concerts that aren't part of your heritage? 

I love all three concerts and I actively listen to classical Arab, Turkish, Armenian, and Persian music. I have also actively participated in all three concerts throughout my years as a member of MEME. For me, the exposure to the maqam music (i.e., modal music of the Middle East) during the Arab and Turkish concerts really opened my eyes to how Middle Eastern music was learned and interpreted throughout the centuries. It was like travelling back in time to when there were more interactions between these cultures. I was really able to see the connections between them. The Middle Eastern region was all maqam music and all three (Turkish, Persian, and Arab) shared many of the same principles and terminology.

What is it like to be part of MEME?

MEME has been a big part of my life here in Chicago. It’s like being a part of a great community where I feel I belong, and I am always welcome. There’s this middle eastern warmth and hospitality that make it feel like home. There is a wonderful culture at the ensemble and Wanees Zarour does a great job promoting that. I believe it was Issa who opened MEME to the community members which helped both the ensemble and the community. I have met many amazing people and made a lot of great friends. I keep learning from everyone here and miss those who, over the years, have left the group.

Tell us a bit about your day job, family, and hobbies? 

I am an architect and work for a large firm in downtown Chicago. We

Arjang portrait of
MEME cellist Hannah Vis

mostly design high-rises. On the side, I play music, draw, and paint. I have been working on a project, painting musicians with their instruments. If you know of anyone interested, let me know!

     Check out Arjang’s excellent art at arjangkhorzad.com. I love his work. 
     Let me end this piece with a quote from our Maestro Wanees Zarour who beautifully captures the what Arjang means to MEME: 

Arjang has deeply rooted knowledge of Persian music, understands the nuances and poetry, and is a walking encyclopedia of Persian repertoire. In addition to being a stellar tar player, Arjang’s efforts are central in making the Persian concerts happen. I deeply value his opinions and rely on his suggestions in selecting a well-balanced set list for the concert. The Persian concerts would not be the same without his behind-the-scenes work. In addition to his thoughtful advice, he has over the years introduced the ensemble to wonderful vocalists and instrumentalists who helped transform the group over the past decade. 

     Hope to see you at the concert.

This Side of Fifty: Seventeen Years

The Two Cross Pens that
I favor these days

     I started this writing project on June 25, 2002. I did not start sharing until February of 2004. Every year I write an anniversary piece to celebrate longevity of this project and reflect on what it has meant to me.
     It all began as a monthly letter that I emailed to a few friends and family. Click here to write my first letter. With time, the distribution grew to between four and five hundred. In 2009, I joined the modern world and started this blog. For a while, I continued one letter a month that I both posted here and emailed. Eventually, I stopped emailing monthly letters and began to post here exclusively and more frequently than once a month. When it was a monthly letter, the letters averaged two-thousand words. With the increased number of posts, the average word count per post dropped to around five or six hundred words. This is equivalent to a page of handwriting which used to be my daily habit when I started this project in 2004.
     In these anniversary letters, I have written about my favorite pens, when and where I write, and I have even posted an example or links to example of a fine piece of writing.
     As for pens, I still prefer ballpoints. I have dabbled with fountain pens. They are all the rage these days and I have some very nice Parkers and Waterman fountain pens. Yet, I find them two much fuss and bother having to deal with caps and ink refilling and all. I also have some fine roller ball pens. I don’t use them on a daily basis either. I will, however, use the rollerballs and fountain pens when I write thank you notes. I like gel pens and favor Uniball over the more popular Pilot G2 series. Both strike bold and colorful lines but both of these brands are throwaways and I do perfer to sport more elegant writing instruments. I still like Caran D’Ache, Cross, Waterman, and Parker. I even have Rotrings and a Mont Blanc that get into the mix occasionally. Lately, I have been favoring two Cross pens for no particular reason that comes to mind. It has been this way over the years. I will favor one brand for a year or so and then switch it up.
     Where do I write? I am pretty much down to three places. Most of my writing is done in my home. I either sit at my desk in my study using my desktop computer or in my easy chair, legs propped up on an ottoman, and my laptop, well, on my lap. The third venue is my office at North Park. I began this project by handwriting a page a day in a notebook. Somewhere in the depths of the Great Recession I started handwriting less and typing more. Today, I type pretty much type at least ninety-five percent of the time. It is too convenient. I do miss the handwriting.
     Forget about proofreading. I am horrible at it and have been consistently horrible at it since I had to first write what we used to call a “theme” back in the second grade. It’s not that I don’t proofread. I do. But I have to seriously focus and read my work at least twice. Even when I can do that, I only minimize the number of phrasing errors and misspellings. I would love to have the luxury of having a secretary and editor at my beck and call. That is not likely to ever happen, but a boy can dream, can’t he?
     As I go through periods favoring one pen brand or another, my writing style follows a similar kind of ebb and flow. If I am not careful, I am very capable of writing some impressive run-on sentences. It just happens. In an attempt to make a very clever observation or point, I will create lengthy and convoluted sentences that border on the unintelligible. Such a period has just ended. Now, I am purposely trying to write shorter sentences and bring out my inner Hemingway. That is, assuming, that I have an inner Hemingway.
      When it comes to the best examples of writing I have read, I must simply refer to my reflection on reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Where the Crawdads Sing over the holidays.
     I love doing this. It forces me to think about a wide variety of topics more deeply and how I react to them. I do believe it has made me a clearer thinker and communicator… run on sentences notwithstanding.
     Thank you all for reading this blog and providing all the feedback you do.  It means the world to me.

MEME: The Unifying Force of Music

     As you know, I am part of the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (MEME) of the University of Chicago. I thoroughly enjoy the practices and three annual concerts we give: Turkish in November, Persian in February, and Arab in May.
     I have posted six times on MEME. MEME and ME explains how I learned of this fantastic orchestra, became a part of it, and what it means to me. The other five times were profiles of musicians preceding the various concerts.

• MEME: Meet Edward and Eli
• MEME: Talking with Lama and Taylan
• MEME: Talking with Oya and Gilda
• The MEME Arab Concert - A Conversation with Sophia Uddin
• MEME: Talking with Elham and Hannah

     The overwhelming theme has been the camaraderie, the magical and unifying nature of the music we love, and how playing at practices and concerts is a delightful escape from our daily activities and concerns.
     The 2020 Persian Concert is Saturday, February 29. It is the only concert in which we do two performances. This year, the two concerts will both be on the same day with an early show at 3 pm and the second show at 7.
     This unifying nature of music is even more special for the Persian Concert. Since the Iranian hostage which lasted from 1979 to 1981, relations between the US and Iran have been hostile, cold, or tense. US – Iranian relations were very tense in January when we began to practice for this concert. The US assassinated an Iranian General and the Iranians shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet. We were a little gloomy with worry that war would break out when we convened for practice. But, as we started to play, we all got lost in the camaraderie and enjoyment of playing.
     I had a chance to watch a news report from Tehran. It was from December 21, 2019 and was about an Evening of Armenian Music performed by Iran’s National Orchestra. Composer and Maestro Loris Tjeknavorian was quoted as believing that “Music is the language of God and is understood by all people and needs no translation.” The Maestro articulated beautifully what the musicians in MEME firmly believe and feel.
     In MEME, we celebrate all of the cultures of the music we play. We appreciate each other for our differences, backgrounds, and, ultimately, for our shared love for the music. We are proof that people can not only get along form wonderful friendships. We, well at least me, are reminded that differences and hatreds are bred by some government and organized religious leaders.
     Of the three concerts, I knew the Persian music the least. I was familiar with the popular Iranian - Armenian singers Vigen and Andy. I have a CD of the famous chanteuse Hayedeh. But that was about it. The Persian standards I played were Shah Doomad and Chera Nemiragashi by Vigen and Gole Sangam. Playing in four Persian concerts has exposed me to the more classical side of the rich heritage that is Persian music.
     My two favorite songs, over this past year, have been Jane Mayram and Morge Sahar. We have performed Jane Mayram three times and Morge Sahar every year in my participation in the Persian Concerts. Both are beautiful. I featured Jane Mayram on a piece I wrote about the passing of the renowned Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani.
     Morge Sahar is a beautiful song. It is associated with the beloved Persian singer Mohammed Reza Shahjarian. Morge Sahar (Morning Bird) is a song set to a poem by Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (1886 – 1951). The English translation, which I am sure is only an approximation of the original, is:

morning bird, mourn, further renew my pain
with a sigh that rains fire, break this cage and overturn it
flightless nightingale, from the pine cage, sing humanity’s song of freedom
from the breath of the masses, fill the open earth with fire
oppression, the oppressor, the hunter’s oppression, it has left my nest dwindling in the wind 

O god, O universe, O nature, make our dark evening into dawn
it’s a new a spring, the flowers have bloomed, the clouds in my eyes, are filled with dew
this cage, like my heart, is suffocated and dark 

oh fiery sigh! start a flame in this cage,
nature’s hand, don’t cut short the flower of my life
give the lover a look, my young flower, make it more!
you heartless bird, make it brief! make it brief, the story of separation

     When Shajarian sings it people both cry and sing along. I have listened to this countless times and look forward to playing it in our practices and the February 29th concert I invite you to attend.

Chidem Inch: Armenian… I mean Amazon Prime Video

     The rise of video and audio streaming apps is changing the we listen to music and watch TV, video, or whatever we call it now. Needless to say, I have been slow to adapt. Case in point, I was most certainly the last one on my block to get Netflix. I have had a Spotify account for, I am guessing, two years and have maybe listened to it twice and only for a few minutes in total.
     It is not that I am shunning or afraid of technology even though I am well within the age bracket where that could be the case. I am a tad reluctant to adapt new technology until it is clear there is a clear winner. MySpace and other forgetful similar failed apps versus Facebook? I could not and did not choose until it was clear that Facebook was the winner.
     One of the reasons I have avoided the music streaming services is because of my taste in music. I love Armenian music especially what is called kef style and the Turkish, Greek, Arab, and Persian styles that overlap with that style. At the beginning, music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora did not have much to offer for the style of music I want to listen to like 98% of the time.
     That has changed. With time, the major streaming service have expanded their catalogs and have gotten around to having an awesome array of playlists that appeal to me. They still do not have it all. I still have esoteric recording that still are not in the catalogs of these services. Lastly, I doubt they will ever be able to provide the live recordings my musical buddies and I have. But… I know better to say never when it comes to such things.
      The motivation for this post is my recent experience with Amazon Prime Video. It was something I have had access to for a long time. On a whim, I decided to poke around and see the breadth of their offering. I accessed the search and started to type Armenian. I had only typed “armen” when the header offered me Armenia, Armenian, Armenian movies, Armenian genocide, and more. It must be noted then while I was typing armenia I noticed that there were a surprising number of movies and documentaries on arm wrestling.
     When I clicked on Armenian, there were 148 selections. I was kind of astonished. Of course, Ararat and The Promise were there. There were several other minor films I have seen such as The Cut and Lost and Found in Armenia but many I have yet to see such as Lost Birds, The Bridge from Vegas, Mariam’s Day Off, and Ultimate Heist to name a few. There were documentaries on the Near East Relief, the murder of Hrant Dink, Anjar, travelogues, and more on the Genocide. I was amazed and, at the same time, not surprised.
     What to watch first? It took a while to decide. My first selection was the Eye of Istanbul. It is a most excellent documentary of the famed Istanbullu photographer Ara Güler (nee Terteryan). I have seen his photos online and in a coffee table book I bought. As the documentary was produced in 2016, two years before he passed, it was wonderful to see the man, hear his words, and get a feel for his personality.
     After that documentary, I opted for humor and rewatched Lost and Found in Armenia starring Jamie Kennedy a movie that makes me laugh out loud. This weekend, I watched two more documentaries.
Anjar: Flowers, Goats, and Heros
The History of One Village: Hatchik
     I recommend them both.
     Clearly, I am hooked on Amazon Prime Video's Armenian catalog.

Business 101

    As you know, I have the good fortune to have found my dream job at the end of my working career. I am a professor in the School of Business and Nonprofit Management at North Park University. I am having the time of my life doing what I love and believe I was truly meant to be doing.
     In my classes, I want my students to have a sense of what business is all about. I want them to understand the functions and processes that comprise a business and how they all fit together. So, I have come up with a short definition that I use in my Operations Management course. I call it Business 101 though it is not really a course.
     It is my definition and clearly from my point of view. I started in quality management and over the span of my career it gradually gravitated into supply chain management. I have only worked at companies that made products. I worked in the auto and consumer packaged goods industries. I have only worked for Fortune 500 companies. I have never worked in finance or investment banking nor have I ever really had any desire to work in those fields even though I must admit the kind of money some make is indeed a lure. All of this, biases whatever insights I think I might have. But it doesn’t stop me from trying to have, codify, and present insights and observations. It is what I do by nature, was trained to do in a way as a mathematician, and certainly paid to do as a quality and reliability engineer.
     Not every student will run a large business or have the entrepreneurial wherewithal to start one. But, almost every student upon graduation will work in a business and ought to know where and how their job and functional areas fits into the larger scheme of things.
     Here is my Business 101 definition.

• Defining business success is pretty simple. Business is about making a profit. It is cut and dry. 
• How is that done? Well for me, it is first and foremost providing products and services that customers want. 
• It is then selling these same products at a high enough volume to more than cover ones fixed costs and at a price higher than the cost of goods and production, and, voila, the business is profitable and can thrive and grow. 
• Don’t do this and the opposite happens, the business loses money and will eventually have to cease operations, call it quits. 
• This is not a one-time deal. A business to do this continually. 
• To make it even more challenging, the competition of the business would love to steal their market share and acts aggressively to that end. 
• On top of this, markets and the customer preferences are continually changing. 
• So, a business needs to be aware of all this and adapt and innovate their product and service offerings to remain competitive and relevant to their customers and ahead of their competition. 

     As a result, some businesses expand and grow while others shrink and even go out of business.
     It may well be a big “duh.” But I wonder. Seeing the way so many companies flounder, I am not sure this is so front of mind of everyone. Even if it is making it all work is not so easy. Look at the Detroit Auto companies, Chipotle, Boeing, and Sears just to name a few.

     Oh yes, W. Edwards Deming probably had some influence on my definition...

W. Edwards Deming 1950