Arts Division
DMA Candidate in Composition
Graduate
Music Department
Music Center
Nina Barzegar is an Iranian composer, pianist, and actress. Her diverse musical style encompasses concert music, film, and theater compositions. In her work, she integrates a wide range of influences, fusing traditional and contemporary musical ideas. Barzegar experiments with Persian musical figures and aesthetics, exploring their potential when combined with Western Classical and New Music elements. She is a member of the Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA), and her works have been performed at various prestigious concerts and festivals in the United States, including the Ojai Music Festival 2023 and Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival 2023. Her collaborations as an actress and film scorer have also been featured at international film festivals. Barzegar holds a bachelor's degree in piano and a master's degree in composition from the University of Tehran, and she is currently pursuing doctoral studies in music composition at UC Santa Cruz.
The Relationship Between Persian Music and Poetry
Transcription of Oral Music Traditions
Communal Music and Dance Traditions of Iran
Rhythm in Persian Music
The Intersection of Cinema and Music
Improvisation in Different Music Traditions
Integrated Composition and improvisation
Composition
Film Music
Music Theory
Piano
2025 Dissertation-Year Fellowship
2024 ARI Summer Pathways Fellowship, UC Santa Cruz
2023a California Arts Council Individual Artists Fellowship Program (CAC IAF)
2023b Graduate Student Council Travel Grant, UC Santa Cruz
2025 Composition-Improvisation Nina Barzegar _ Michael J. Fleming, Santa Cruz New Music Festival, Santa Cruz-CA, Apr. 18
2024 Parallel Improvisation in Sorrow and Hope Photo Exhibition by Khalil Anvar. Piano: Nina Barzegar, Voice: Neda Yaseri, Santur: Arya Tavallaei, Kamancheh: Siamak Barghi, Oud: Samira Arjmand
2024 Emancipation Pondering for Clarinet Bb, Premiered by Joshua Rubin, Santa Cruz New Music Festival, Santa Cruz-CA, Apr. 19
2023a Baadban for Alto Sax, Premiered by Thomas Giles, National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY, December 11
2023b Vulnerable for Cello, Premiered by Brian Thornton, Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival, NYC, September 6
2023c Inexorable Passage for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Piano, Performed by International Contemporary Ensemble, Ojai Music Festival, June 9
2023d Mourning Heritage, Fragile Horror for Piano, Performed by Emily Wong, Music from the Past Decade with The Locrian Chamber Player, Riverside Church, New York, NY, May 18
2023e Inner Ecstasy, Threnody for Homeland, Irresolute Dance for String Quartet, Premiered by Del Sol Quartet, Santa Cruz New Music Festival, Santa Cruz-CA, Apr. 14
Tutorial Pino Book Pond of Piano, Composition and Arrangements in Two-Volume Set
