Jan 27th - Feb 4th, 2024
An Experience From A Different World; Alireza Ghorbani
"From listening to his songs as a child & teenager on the 45 minute bus ride home with goosebumps, to being officially called up to perform and tour with the great maestro Alireza Ghorbani. Is that a dream, a fairytale or is it how it usually goes? I don't know. All I know is that I teared up on stage during every performance. I don't usually cry, ever."
First stop: Sydney Opera House. N I M A had never made a debut at this grand concert hall before however he knew the time would come, and it sure did. After months of work & N I M A's collaboration as an organising member of the tour with big names such as Hesam Naseri (artistic director), Ali Lebaschi & maestro Bret Kelly (read more here), the day of the first performance finally came and the concert was a huge success! It was a full house of almost 3,000 people on that night. Incredible memories were made. As part of the 14 item setlist was an improvisational take on a famous poem performed only by maestro Alireza Ghorbani and his team of traditional instrumentalists from Iran. "It brought tears to my eyes. Tears that stayed for the rest of the night. I was playing and almost crying at the same time" is how N I M A describes the experience.
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Second stop: Melbourne Palais Theatre. After being away in Sydney for four days, as a man who loves home N I M A was glad to be performing in his home city in front of many friends and family who came to support him. This performance was incredibly special as it was the first to showcase the result of months of planning and preparation from N I M A's & Bret Kelly's side. N I M A along with a full ensemble of strings, woodwind & brass made up of Australia's best musicians; from MSO, MCO, SSO, TSO etc performed together for this grand evening's concert.
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In a very sudden and sharp plot twist, an invitation was extended to N I M A for further collaboration for the Brisbane & Perth performances. This was very unexpected as the initial terms of agreement were only concerning Sydney & Melbourne. The offer was delightfully accepted despite it meaning some urgent arrangements needed to be made regarding choice of musicians & travel however N I M A's experience came in handy in facilitating fast & effective communications across the board to ensure everything works out in the end, which it did. A mighty quartet with N I M A, Mathew Laing, Zoe Knighton & Eliza Shephard was quickly put together in the span of only a couple of days and therefore, travels began.
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Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall & Perth's precious historical venue experienced a great night of rich art, culture & deep human to human connection on the evenings of 2nd & 3rd of February. N I M A says "it couldn't have happened in a better way, an experience to remember for a lifetime for me" As all things do, this too came to an end and on the 4th of February after a delightful breakfast as a team everyone went their own way. Mr. Ghorbani & his team to Dubai & N I M A back home to Melbourne. It was very sad to find out Mr. Ghorbani's wife; 'Mozhghan' passed away only a couple of days after Perth's concert. N I M A & his team pass on their sincerest condolences.
