SUSSAN DEYHIM BIO
SUSSAN DEYHIM is an Iranian American composer, vocalist, performance artist and activist. She is internationally known for creating a unique sonicand vocal language imbued with a sense of ritual and the unknown. She was part of the national ballet company in Iran from the age of thirteen and she traveled all across Iran studying with master folk musicians and dancers. In1976 she joined The Bejart Ballet in Europe after receiving a scholarship to attend Bejarts’ performance art school Mudra where she was trained in many of the great world, dance, music and theater traditions as well as in classical ballet. Her music remains true to the spirit of her ancient heritage while pointing to the future with a very personal and poetic dramatic sensibility. In 1980, she moved to New York embarking on a multifaceted career encompassing music, theatre, dance, media and film. She created/starred in ground breakingmedia operas at La Mama in the ’80s including Azax/ Attra and The Ghost of Ibn Sabah.
Sussan’s wide-ranging collaborations with leading artistsfrom across the spectrum of contemporary art have included, Ornette Coleman, Bobby McFerrin, Peter Gabriel, Bill Laswell, Richard Horowitz, Rufus Wainwright, Marius De Vries, Hal Winer, Micky Hart, Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia, Will Calhoun, Karsh Kale, Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Jah Wobble, Talvin Singh, Adrian Sherwood, and The Blue Man Group and with prominent female visual artists Shirin Neshat, Sophie Calle and Lita Albuquerque.
Her composition Windfall/Beshno Az Ney was recently used by U2 throughout the US and Europe. “U2s360 tour” in one of the largest scale tock tours to this day. Beshno Az Ney isan intro to U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday” a moving number in solidarity with Iran’s Green movement.Sussan has performed with international orchestras such asthe Polish Radio Orchestra and the Krakow Philharmonic and has received commissions as a composer from international ensembles such as Bang On A Can.She has performed her music at Lincoln Center Summer Festival, Carnegie Recital Hall, Albert Hall, The Old Vic, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royce Hall and many other major venues.
Deyhim’s solo recordings include:
Madman of God: Divine Love Songs of the Persian Sufi Masters, Shy Angels (with Bill Laswell) for the visionary label Crammed Discs.
Her recordings with Richard Horowitz include:
Majoun (for Sony Classical), Desert Equations (releasedon Crammed Discs), A Gift of Love (for Deepak Chopra withnarration by Martin Sheen, Robert Thurman, Rosa Parks, Madonna, Goldie Hawn, and Debra Winger).With composer and director Heiner Goebbels, Deyhim recorded Shadows (for ECM), based on writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Heiner Mueller. She was also a featured soloist on Hal Wilner’s tribute to Kurt Weill, Lost in the Stars.
Her label Venus Rising Records has released 5 new album of her works on film, multi media and recent collaborations.
Film/Television
ARGO Directed by Ben Affleck
– Music: Alexabdre Desplat
– Golden Globe and Oscar Nomination for best score 2012
The Last Temptation of Christ
– Music: Peter Gabriel
The Kite Runner
– Music by Alberto Iglesias
Any Given Sunday
– Music: Richard Horowitz
Tobruk
– Music in collaboration with Richard Horowitz, winner of Czech Lion Award in 2009.
The Stoning of Soraya
– Music: John Debney
Unfaithful
– Music: Jan Kaczmarek
Sleeper Cell
– Music:Paul Haslinger (Golden Globe winning Showtime series)
The Rise of the Argonauts
– Music: Tyler Bates
Sussan has been a frequent participant at human itarian events and benefits, including a performance at the gathering of the spiritual leaders of the world at the UN General Assembly in 2001; the first Gathering of Female Spiritual Leaders in Geneva at the United Nations and the Royal Hope Gala, Royal Albert Hall, London, England with Placido Domingo, The Royal Ballet and many others, for medical aid to Iraqi children. In 2009 she performed in a sold out concert at the UN General Assembly organized by Pakistan’s biggest rock musician and activist, Salman Ahmad to raise funds for misplaced children in Pakistan with other participants such as, Jeff Skol, Bobby Sager, and Gavin Rossdale.
Deyhim’s current and upcoming projects include:
- “Dawn of the cold Season” Solo Installation Exhibit at Shulamit Gallery, Venice, Ca. Nov15.2015. This exhibition has been made possible thru a Residency Fellowship at The Robert Rauschenberg Residency/Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, by a substantial grant from The Farhang Foundation and a residency Fellowship at CAP/UCLA Residency Program.
- World Premiere of ““The House is Black””, Sussan Deyhim’s media project based on the life and works by the Iranian contemporary literary heroine, Forough Farrokhzad. Jan 23.2015 at CAP/UCLA Royce Hall.
- Sundance 2015 will be presenting artist and director Sibylle Szahhars Redford’s “The Way of Rain” with a special appearance by Robert Redford . Sussan will perform as the persona and voice of Mother Earth in this anticipated world premiere.
- “Forbidden Echoes” a sonic visual installation (in development)
Performance Links NY Times
“The New York Times said that her “thrilling music…sounds in theear long after you’ve left the show.”
— LA Times
“Sussan Deyhim is one of Iran’s most potentvoices in exile for the simple reason that she possesses a marvelously potentvoice. She wails and coos and ululates, the sound of the soul in translation.”
— Bobby McFerrin
“Sussan Deyhim is a fascinating original voice inmusic and the arts. Her rich and complex vocals are warm, beautifully sung, andalways surprising.”
“Sussan Deyhim creates thrilling music that sounds inthe ear long after you’ve left the show.”
— The New York Times
VIDEOS
Sussan Deyhim with Polish Radio Orchestra
– Music by; Jan A.P. Kaczmarek Vocal improvisations by: Sussan Deyhim.
youtube.com/watch?v=DtiGPUFVqD8Sussan
Deyhim at the Grand Performances in LosAngeles
youtube.com/watch?v=HeLaY8IyqukSussan
Deyhim in Argo recording sessions
scoringsessions.com/video/13/Sussan
Deyhim Live w/ Maetar | 2012 Zeitgeist Media Festival | Hollywood, CA
youtube.com/watch?v=qRN_mta4y3QSussan
Deyhim at Grand Performances 2011- Sange Khara
youtube.com/watch?v=c-soVVPgYW8