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NOWRUZ: LIGHT ALWAYS PREVAILS

Honoring the Enduring Voices of Iranians

Parissa

The Grande Dame of Iranian Music

Golda Zahra

Opera Star

The Iranshahr Orchestra

Music Director: Maestro Shahab Paranj

March 8, 2026 - 6pm

Royce Hall, UCLA

In recognition of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, NOWRUZ: Light Always Prevails is a powerful concert honoring the enduring voices, resilience, and cultural legacy of Iranians through music.

This special evening features a rare live appearance by Parissa, the Grande Dame of Iranian music. Since 1979, Parissa’s performances have been banned in Iran, making each of her appearances abroad especially meaningful. Her last concert took place in 2019 on Farhang Foundation’s stage, and her return now marks an exceptional and deeply significant moment offering audiences another very rare opportunity to experience the mastery, emotional depth, and timeless artistry of a living legend in person.

The concert also marks an important milestone with opera star Golda Zahra, who will make her Persian-language debut on Farhang’s stage. Having conquered some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls, Zahra brings her extraordinary voice to a repertoire that bridges global excellence with Iranian cultural expression.

Joining them is the Iranshahr Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Shahab Paranj, whose dynamic and nuanced orchestral interpretations unite tradition with contemporary sensibilities, providing a powerful musical foundation for this evening of recognition and reflection.

Farhang Foundation is proud to once again partner with the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music at UCLA in presenting this annual Nowruz tradition, an evening of recognition, reflection, and artistic integrity through the universal language of music.

About Parissa

Farhang Foundation is honored to welcome the grande dame of Iranian classical music, the legendary Maestra Parissa, to the Royce Hall stage as part of this year’s special Nowruz concert, a tribute to the enduring voices of Iranians.

Renowned for her extraordinary vocal mastery, depth of expression, and distinctive style, Parissa is widely regarded as the most influential Iranian female classical vocalist of the past half century. She studied Persian vocal music, including the revered radif repertoire and classical tasnifs, under the guidance of two of the most celebrated masters of Persian vocal tradition, Abdollah Davami and Mahmoud Karimi.

Parissa’s early career included work with Iran’s National Radio and Television as well as the Ministry of Culture, where her artistry helped shape a golden era of Iranian classical music. Following the 1979 revolution, she was prohibited from performing publicly in Iran. Over the ensuing decades, her artistic journey has expanded internationally, with acclaimed performances at major festivals and concert halls around the world, alongside a distinguished career in teaching and mentoring within academic institutions.

Farhang Foundation was deeply honored to host Maestra Parissa at her last concert appearance on our stage in March 2019, and we are proud to welcome her once again for this rare and meaningful performance, an homage to the resilience, culture, and spirit of the people of Iran.

About Golda Zahra

A Los Angeles native hailed as “The rising star of the opera world” and “a promising young opera singer” by the Los Angeles Times, award-winning soprano, Golda Zahra is known for an angelic voice marked by lush, golden tones, crystal clarity, and a vocal range with an exciting high-note extension.

To her parents' amazement, Golda sang even before she uttered her first words. At the age of three, she chirped along to Luciano Pavarotti’s, “Funiculì, Funiculà,” a Neapolitan song that her childlike voice reinterpreted as “Jamma-Ja.” That same year, she attended her first opera. Enchanted by Mozart’s Magic Flute, it was becoming remarkably clear that Golda was a natural—singing, acting, and imitating the music all around her. It seemed as though opera had "chosen her," long before she knew that a true operatic voice lived within.

Begging her parents to allow her to "go it alone" and pursue her craft, while still a teenager, she spent nearly eight years in Italy, not merely studying music and opera, but absorbing the Italian artistic culture into her being. During this period, she also notably coached with soprano Barbara Frittoli.

Hailed by the L.A. Times as “One of the rising stars of her generation,” Golda has already garnered awards and is quickly emerging as a singer preparing for the world stage. Driven to share her vocal gifts, she possesses an innocence and generosity of spirit all too rare. Most critically, she defies the need to be confined by the principles of any specific genre. “I love it all,” she says in her carefree style.

Not trained merely for power, Golda’s voice is beautiful in tone while also buoyed by a unique blend of agility that sometimes hearkens back to the Golden Age of Opera. Marked by her passionate personality and ability to immediately enchant, the Los Angeles native is the product of a Middle Eastern mother and an American father whose own grandfather was the voice teacher to superstar and crossover artist, Linda Ronstadt.

A lyric soprano with a golden voice and exciting high-note extension, Golda is in-demand appearing at famed venues, including Walt Disney Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and Royce Hall. She has also appeared with some of Southern California’s leading orchestras including LA Opera (under the baton of James Conlon), the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, Burbank Philharmonic, Southeast Symphony, and Dream Orchestra under conductor Daniel Suk. She is in the process of recording a series of classic opera arias and other favorites with internationally renowned conductor Maestro Steven Mercurio and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2025, Golda launched the highly successful concert spectacular Golda Zahra in Concert at Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Following up with a critically acclaimed debut performance as “Liu” in Puccini’s Turandot at Walt Disney Hall, she also appeared at the Pacific Music Festival’s Puccini 100th gala concert.

Soprano Golda Zahra studies in the private voice studio of Bill Schuman in New York.

About Shahab Paranj

Winner of the 2024 Hoefer Prize, Shahab Paranj is a composer, conductor, instrumentalist, and educator. Born and raised in Iran, he holds degrees in music composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is recognized as a pioneering figure among his generation of Iranian composers, known for integrating Persian and Western compositional techniques. 

Praised by the San Francisco Examiner as "extraordinary" and lauded by composer John Adams for his "unique voice," Paranj's music diverges from Eurocentric conventions, drawing inspiration from the rich traditions of Persian music.

His recent commissions include works for ensembles such as the Delirium Musicum, Russian String Orchestra, Intersection Contemporary Music Ensemble, Long Beach Opera, Jâca Duo, Aleron Trio, San Francisco New Music Ensemble, One Great City Duo, MSM Symphony Orchestra, and the International Low Brass Trio. His versatility also extends to film scoring, with his original score for Dressage earning recognition when it was nominated for the 2018 Berlin Film Festival's Generation category.
As a conductor, Paranj led The Iranshahr Orchestra in the recording of Songs of Love and Loss by Richard Danielpour, featuring the acclaimed soprano Hila Plitmann, released by Naxos in 2024.

A virtuoso tombak player, Paranj has performed, recorded, and collaborated with distinguished artists and ensembles, including the legendary Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, and the Pacific Symphony under the baton of Carl St. Clair. For over 15 years, he has been a dedicated collaborator with the celebrated Shams Ensemble. In addition to his mastery of Persian percussion, he was a member of the Iran National TV and Radio Symphony Orchestra as a cellist from 2003 to 2007.

As a scholar, Paranj's primary research explores the Iranian Avazi style. He has presented his work at prominent conferences, including the joint annual meeting of SEM, AMS, and SMT in 2022. His contributions have been formally recognized by the Association of Professors and Scholars of Iranian (2024), Mehr Humanitarian Society (2010) and the City and County of San Francisco (2011).

Since 2023, Paranj has served as a faculty member and the director of the Center for Iranian Music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He is also the founder and music director of The Iranshahr Orchestra and the artistic director of du vert à l’infini, a contemporary music festival in the Franche-Comté region of France.

About Iranshahr Orchestra

The Iranshahr Orchestra, the first Iranian orchestra established outside of Iran, is composed of some of the most gifted and highly accomplished musicians in Los Angeles, united by a shared commitment to championing composers, performers, and educators. With a primary mission to promote and preserve Iranian music, the orchestra annually commissions, performs, and premieres works by Iranian composers, nurturing a rich and ever-evolving musical legacy.

Distinguished by its cultural diversity, The Iranshahr Orchestra transcends the conventional Western classical format, integrating instruments from Iran and neighboring regions while establishing a unique aesthetic and organizational structure rooted beyond European traditions.

Since 2024, the orchestra has been the official resident ensemble of the Center for Iranian Music at UCLA, further solidifying its role as a leading force in the promotion of Iranian musical heritage.

Among its notable initiatives, Avāz-e Jān—an ongoing collaboration with esteemed Iranian musicians—stands as a testament to its commitment to innovation. The orchestra has also commissioned works from distinguished composers such as Richard Danielpour, Reza Vali, and Ian Krouse, further enriching its artistic repertoire.

In June 2024, The Iranshahr Orchestra released its debut album under the prestigious Naxos label. This landmark recording, nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Music at the International Classical Music Awards, features works by Richard Danielpour and showcases Grammy-winning soprano Hila Plitmann, conducted by Shahab Paranj.