Ashkan Fakhr Tabatabaie
Ashkan Tabatabaie (b. 1986), Ph.D. Music Composition, University of Utah, MA in Music Composition, Tehran University of Art, BS in Materials Engineering, Azad University is an interdisciplinary media composer, performer, scholar, and entrepreneur. He has composed instrumental, electroacoustic, and creative multimedia pieces that have been commissioned and/or presented by the Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, American Creator Ensemble, Persian New Music Ensemble, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Utah Philharmonia, Fry Street String Quartet, Nova Chamber Ensemble, Next Ensemble, Tribeca Ensemble, VU Symposium, and Salty Cricket, among others.
Ashkan’s scholarly research focuses on the intersection of media cognition, theory, and technology. He actively collaborates with scientists and artists from various fields to discover and establish untapped pathways of writing and performing music evident in Ashkan’s compositions and scholarly writings. He has presented and published co-authored articles in conferences and journals such as the Future Direction of Music Cognition, Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, OpenWest, and MOXsonic, among others.
As an entrepreneur, Ashkan co-founded Digital Content Helix LLC (DCH) in 2020, an audiovisual production company that incorporates new tools and technologies such as augmented reality projection combined with digital art, data mapping, and 3D video and audio recording to shape innovative ways of future story telling within the fine arts. DCH has produced various media content such as music videos, virtual concerts, promotional videos, interviews, and advertisements within the higher education sector. One of DCH’s recent production endeavors, Artivism for Earth, in which Ashkan also collaborated as a videographer, sound engineer, and producer, was featured in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, as part of the Music 4 Climate Justice Virtual Global Benefit Concert.