School of Humanities and Sciences
Showing 1-33 of 33 Results
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Chris East
Ph.D. Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2024
BioChris East is a PhD student in musicology at Stanford University. He studies early twentieth-century Russian ballet music, with a particular focus on the music of Igor Stravinsky.
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Mohammad H. Javaheri
Doctor of Musical Arts Student, Musical Arts
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCo-existence of Human and Non-Human Elements in a Soundscape
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Zach Haines
Ph.D. Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2022
Research Assistant to Professor Kathryn Starkey, GermanBioZachary Haines is a PhD student in Musicology at Stanford University. He is both an active scholar and performer as a baritone, with research interests in the vocal repertoires of the late Renaissance and early Baroque.
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Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi
Doctor of Musical Arts Student, Musical Arts
BioKimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi (b. 1997 Tehran, Iran) composes for acoustic and hybrid ensembles, and produces and performs electronic music. Kimia explores the unfamiliar familiar while constantly being driven by the mechanism of the human psyche and exploring ways to manipulate it.
Her work has been featured in festivals such as The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (Virtual), Yarn/Wire Institute (Virtual), Ensemble Evolution (Virtual), New Music on the Point (Vermont, USA), wasteLAnd Summer Academy 2019 (Los Angeles, USA), EQ: Evolution of the String Quartet (Banff, Canada), Modulus Festival (Vancouver, Canada), SALT New Music Festival (Victoria, Canada).
Being a cross-disciplinary artist, she has actively collaborated on projects evolving around dance, film, and theatre. Kimia has been presented by organizations such as Iranian Female Composer Association, Music on Main, Western Front, Vancouver New Music, and Media Arts Committee. She has had publicity in papers such as The New York Times, Georgia Straight, MusicWorks Magazine, Vancouver Sun, and Sequenza 21.
She desires to play with the human psyche and its perception of time and space while creating sonic worlds that have their own rules and justifications.“Accidents” in music are the basis of her work. -
Mercedes Montemayor Elosua
Doctor of Musical Arts Student, Musical Arts
BioMercedes Montemayor (b. Monterrey, Mexico) is a composer creating innovative and avant-garde music. Her passion for music began at an early age, and since then, she has been immersed in the world of composition and music production. Her musical influences are diverse, and she enjoys experimenting with different genres, from classical music to ambient and electronic music. One of her greatest influences is Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose compositions have been a constant source of inspiration for Mercedes.
Despite her short career, Mercedes Montemayor has managed to stand out in the world of experimental music thanks to her ability to create complex and immersive soundscapes. Her compositions are often introspective and emotive, reflecting her interest in exploring new forms of expression through music. In addition to her work as a composer, Mercedes is also a sound engineer, which has allowed her to have a more technical and precise approach to her music production.
Mercedes performed in Mutek Mexico in October 2023 and interned in WSDG, an architectural acoustics firm. -
Ashkan Nazari
Ph.D. Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2023
Iranian Studies - Iran Media Projects, Iranian StudiesBioAshkan Nazari
M.A. Ethnomusicology, Tehran University of Art, Tehran
B.A., Music, University of Tehran, Tehran
A Kurdish-Iranian musician and researcher, Ashkan is currently an ethnomusicology PhD student at Stanford. He holds a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Tehran and a master's in ethnomusicology from Tehran University of Art.
Ashkan's more than 15-year-long research career has centred upon Kurdish classical and folk musics as well as Iranian classical music. The core area he is pursuing at Stanford covers the intersections between music, on the one hand, and genocide, war, violence, intellectual movements, Islam and Kurdish identity, on the other. His interest also includes the development of ethnographic studies of the relationship existing between maqām as a cultural-musical concept, with ethnicity, racism and colonialism.
In his quest to explore those realms, Ashkan has already been prolific back home, with three titles: The Concept and Structure of Maqām in Kurdish Music, The Structure of Musical Modes in Hawrāmi Music, the Anthropological Aspects of Maqām Music of Iraqi Kurdistan, with the latter set to be released soon. Many of his numerous articles have additionally appeared across prestigious Iranian journals, others presented at international ethnomusicology conferences.
As the founder and conductor of the first-ever philharmonic orchestra in his Kurdish hometown of Paveh, Ashkan also taught Iranian music theory and Iranian ensembles, while instructing setār performance and analysis of Iranian classical music at the University of Kurdistan and the University of Art and Culture in Kermanshah and Sanandaj, respectively. -
Nancy Rico-Mineros
Master of Arts Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2024
CCRMA Student Assistant, MusicBioNancy Rico-Mineros is currently a first-year grad student at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). Prior to Stanford, Nancy attended NYU in which she received a Bachelor of Music in Music Technology.
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Calvin Van Zytveld
Ph.D. Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2023
BioCalvin Van Zytveld is pursuing a Ph.D. in Musicology at Stanford University. His research interests include hymnody of pre-industrial America and agricultural practices of the early modern period.
Calvin graduated summa cum laude in music from Princeton University, with a certificate in cello performance. Following graduation, he began master’s degrees in music composition and cello performance at the University of Michigan, but lost his vision suddenly in the second year of his studies due to Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Unable to read music, Calvin performs and writes music less frequently now, though he can be heard performing with the Plymouth Chamber Players, a grassroots chamber collective he co-directs with violinists Paolo Dara and Karisa Chiu in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Calvin enjoys organic vegetable gardening, drinking tea, and walking with his guide dog, Wake. -
Spark Wu
Master of Arts Student in Music, admitted Autumn 2023
BioSpark皇毅, a dynamic and talented rapper, singer, and producer from Taiwan, embarked on his musical journey at the tender age of 15, working as a freelance contract producer. His early start in the industry allowed him to hone a diverse set of skills, including music production, sound effects creation, film scoring, singing, and rapping.
In 2016, at just 16 years old, Spark demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit by establishing ROLE PRODUCTION, a company he founded with the accumulated earnings from his collaborations with friends on various projects like short films, advertisements, and commercials.
His artistic breakthrough came in 2020 with the release of his debut album, "Fairy Fakeass Tale," under the esteemed HIM International Music record label. This album stood out for its innovative use of Grimms' Fairy Tales as allegories to critique societal appearances; it delved into the deceptive veneer of beauty that masks underlying corruption, violence, and sexuality, mirroring the dark themes prevalent in these classic tales.
The album's unique narrative approach, coupled with collaborations with renowned artists such as Karencici and F.I.R., quickly propelled "Fairy Fakeass Tale" to popularity. This success opened doors for Spark, leading to numerous performance opportunities across Taiwan.
Furthering his commitment to his craft, Spark graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 with a Bachelor's degree in Performing Arts Technology. He is currently furthering his academic pursuits with a Master’s degree at Stanford University, continuing to blend his artistic talents with academic excellence.
