PhD student composer Neda Samavati selected as a Future Award winner at Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra
Congratulations to doctoral student Iranian composer-guitarist Neda Samavati who has been selected as a Future Award winner as part of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra's Composer Fellowship program. This category is offered to applicants who show exceptional promise, and the Future Award program includes an orchestra reading of a short work, a chance to be involved in the Composer Fellowship program staff sessions, and additional mentorship.
Neda is a PhD (Composition) student at Western working with Paul Frehner. Before pursuing her PhD, she completed her MA in Music Composition at the Tehran University of Arts in Iran, where she excelled and built upon her extensive musical foundation. She has exhibited a strong passion and dedication to music, as aside from her MA and PhD, she has obtained Diplomas in Classical Guitar Performance, Piano Performance and Ear training.
Neda recounts how her musical journey started at 13, where, with the help of her father (a skilled cellist and guitarist), she fell in love with improvisation and composition - laying the foundation for her future artistic endeavours. Her talents have only continued to blossom as Neda has achieved some immensely commendable milestones; she reached the semi-finals in the fifth Guitar Composition Competition Fidelio in Spain in 2020, secured second place in the Annual Classical Guitar Performance of Iran, and in 2023, was commissioned by Western’s Northern Tornadoes Project as part of a special climate and weather focused event hosted by the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Western’s Contemporary Music Studio will also premiere one of her works at their final concert of the 2023-24 season on April 8.
Written by Shifa Chaudhary
Related links
Graduate Studies in Music at Western
PhD student Cadu Verdan named Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Composer Fellow (July 2022)
