Hormoz Farhat—composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator—was a pioneering figure in the academic field of Iranian music. In 1959, he founded The Music of Persia Performance Group, the first university-based ensemble dedicated to Persian music, and later became the first Iranian scholar to lecture on Iranian music at UCLA.
He served as Professor and Head of the Music Department at the University of Tehran (1970–1978). During this period, he also held several significant national cultural leadership roles, including Head of the Music Council for National Iranian Radio and Television (1969–1978), a leadership position with the Shiraz Arts Festival, and Vice-Chancellor of Farabi University (1975–1977). In 1972 and 1973, he was invited to Harvard University as a Visiting Professor of Music.
From 1982 to 1995, Farhat served as Chair of Music at Trinity College Dublin, where he shaped generations of musicians and scholars. He is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking study The Dastgāh Concept in Persian Music (Cambridge University Press), which remains a foundational text in the field, as well as for his extensive body of compositions and his distinguished academic career across Iran, the United States, and Ireland.
This event will feature a brief lecture by Dr. Shahab Paranj on The Concept of Dastgāh, followed by a conversation with Dr. Robert Garfias, one of Farhat’s longtime colleagues at UCLA, offering personal and scholarly reflections on Farhat’s life, work, and influence.