Hassan Estakhrian

Hassan Estakhrian is a multi-disciplinary musician based in California. He works as a composer, performer, songwriter, intermedia artist, producer, music technologist, audio engineer, and educator. Hassan performs and records on multiple instruments, including voice, electric bass, guitar, keyboards, drum set, and others. He collides genres of rock, funk, and jazz with experimental and contemporary classical, sometimes integrating various technologies and media to create large scale intermedia works.

 

Hassan's practice as an audio engineer ranges from creating records in the studio to producing live virtual acoustic concerts. As a technologist, Hassan develops tools for music production, compositional aid, and live performance, while also conducting research in virtual acoustics and immersive audio.

 

Hassan’s compositions span a diversity of creations and narratives. These include sci-fi rock operas, musical games with graphic scorecards, intermedia works utilizing plastics and toys, vocal music inspired by field recordings of nature, and chamber pieces infused with rock 'n' roll and funk.

 

Hassan directs his band Antenna Fuzz and works with a variety of groups across genres. He has performed and recorded with rock band Valerian Sun, contemporary classical ensemble Dal Niente, and experimental-pop duo Meoark. Additionally, he has composed for ensembles such as JACK Quartet, WasteLAnd, Tak Ensemble, Variant 6, Mocrep, Ensemble Proton Bern, and Kukuruz Quartet. His work has been performed in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Hassan has several releases including a live album of his sci-fi rock opera called Zolk Tizzer Live! and an EP called Interwebbed featuring The Living Earth Show. His music has also been featured in documentaries, game apps, and tutorials.

 

Hassan holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) from Stanford University, a Master of Fine Arts in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology from the University of California, Irvine, and a Bachelor of Music in Composition from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his education, Hassan studied with a range of composers including Mark Applebaum, Nicole Mitchell, Jarosław Kapuściński, Brian Ferneyhough, Chris Chafe, Erik Ulman, Chris Dobrian, Ko Umezaki, Michael Dessen, Robert Maggio, Adam Silverman, Larry Nelson, and Van Stiefel. Hassan has been recognized with awards, grants, scholarships, and fellowships, including the Carolyn Applebaum Memorial Prize, the Leo Freedman Fellowship, and the Gangemi Music Composition Scholarship.

 

As an educator, Hassan teaches sound-recording technology courses at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University and advises students on their composition and recording projects. He also manages CCRMA’s recording studio and helps maintain and develop their virtual acoustics system.