# Shahrdad Rohani

Shahrdad Rohani, also known as Shardad Rohani (Persian: شهرداد روحانی; born 27 May 1954), is an Iranian-American composer, violinist/pianist, and conductor. His style is contemporary and he is well known for composing and conducting classical, instrumental, adult contemporary/new age, film soundtrack as well as pop music. He was the principal conductor and music director of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2020.

## Early life

He was born in 1954 in Tehran, Iran. His father, Reza Rohani, was an accomplished musician and as a result, Shahrdad and all of his brothers including Anoushiravan Rohani and Ardeshir Rohani followed in their father's footsteps. He began playing the piano at age 6, like many of his other brothers. As a child, he was a student to a well-known Persian violinist, Ebrahim Rouhifar. At age 10 he attended the Persian National Music Conservatory of Tehran. By 1975, he was studying Composition and Orchestra Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 1984, Rohani moved to Los Angeles.

## Musical career

From 1987 until 1991, Rohani served as the music director and conductor of the Committee on the Arts (COTA) symphony orchestra in Los Angeles. He has appeared as a guest conductor with several prestigious orchestras, including London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and many others.
Rohani arranged and conducted a sixty-piece orchestra to supplement Yanni's keyboard compositions during the Yanni Live at the Acropolis concert in 1993 —an open-air concert with the London Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on the Acropolis, Athens, Greece. Yanni Live at the Acropolis was acclaimed by both critics and audiences and became the most widely viewed program ever shown on Public Television in the United States and is the second best-selling music video of all time.
In 1994, he became a US citizen.
Rohani was commissioned in 1998 by the government of Thailand and the committee of the 13th Asian Games to compose and conduct the music for opening ceremonies. The composition became the most popular song of the Asian Games.

## Discography
### Solo albums

| Year | Solo album title |
| 1977 | Eternity |
| 1994 | Beauty of Love, Journey to Romance |
| 1988 | Dream Images |
| 1990 | Rayahee |
| 1991 | Dance of Spring |
| 1994 | The Winds of Christmas |
| 1994 | Encore in Ivory |
| 1995 | Impressions of Romance |
| 1996 | Touch of Serenity, Volume 1 |
| 1997 | The Winds of Christmas, Volume 2 |
| 1998 | Cinema Passion |
| 2014 | Persian Gulf Symphonic Suite |

### Compilation and guest artist albums

| Year | Album title | Artist(s) | Notes |
| 1994 | Live at the Acropolis | Yanni | The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Shahrdad Rohani on this album |
| 1999 | The Private Years | Yanni | Box set |
| 2000 | River of Kings | Dej Bulsuk, London Symphony Orchestra, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2000 | Sunrise in Bangkok | Dej Bulsuk, London Symphony Orchestra, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2002 | Kingdom of Smiles | Dej Bulsuk, London Symphony Orchestra, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2007 | Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker; Swan Lake; the Sleeping Beauty | Slovak Radio New Philharmonic Orchestra, Viktor Simcisko, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2009 | EclectSax | Douglas Masek, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2009 | Open Secret | Nahan Makon, Alireza Assar, London Symphonic Orchestra, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2013 | Dancing at the Opera | Various artists | |
| 2013 | Sinus Persicus Suite | London Symphony Orchestra, London Voices, Shardad Rohani | |
| 2013 | Born to be Thai | Dej Bulsuk, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Shardad Rohani | |

## Awards

* A.K.M. Scholarship (Vienna, Austria)
* ASCAP Scholarship (Los Angeles, California)
* 1984 – Jerry Fielding Award, UCLA
* 1999 – 'Pikanes Award' by the Musical Association of Thailand