Co-founder of RKC
Arsalan Abedian was born in Tehran, Iran, and received his first musical training on the santur, a traditional Persian instrument, with Omid Sayareh. He began his composition studies in Tehran and continued them at the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover, where he earned an additional master’s degree as well as the concert exam in the solo class. Among his influential teachers are Joachim Heintz, Kiawasch Sahebnassagh, Oliver Schneller, Ming Tsao and Gordon Williamson. Additionally, he attended composition seminars with Rebecca Saunders and José María Sánchez-Verdú.
As a composer, organizer, and member of the Yarava Music Group, Abedian has been involved for many years in numerous concerts, projects, and artistic formats of contemporary music. In Tehran, he founded the label Contemporary Music Records and co-initiated the first electroacoustic music competition in Iran, the Reza Korourian Awards, where he also served as a juror and editor. Furthermore, he publishes articles on new music in both Germany and Iranian journals.
Abedian’s compositional output encompasses works for various ensembles as well as electroacoustic music and sound installations. In some pieces, the choice of material and structure is based on numerical sequences, their combinations, and relations, which are sonified and transformed into compositional parameters. Other works integrate theatrical elements, new performance situations, and spatial aspects as well as movements of the performers. Some works explore new timbres by combining traditional instruments with unconventional, at times absurd playing techniques and expression reminiscent of Dadaism. Another focus lies on the use of environmental sounds, everyday noises, and object sounds as compositional material, especially prominent in his electroacoustic works. His music is also inspired by modern Iranian literature—such as Sadegh Hedayat—as well as poetic and literary texts, including those by Kurt Schwitters.
His works have been performed by renowned festivals and ensembles in various countries. Two of his electroacoustic compositions were released in the CD series of DEGEM (German Society for Electroacoustic Music). Abedian has received numerous scholarships, including from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.