MASTERWORKS 6
FREEDOM MILAD YOUSUFI: Born: 1995, in Afghanistan Work Composed: 2017 World Premiere: May 20, 2017, in New York, New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Performance History: Tonight marks the DSSO’s first performance of any music by Milad Yousufi. Instrumentation: Flute, clarinet, horn, percussion (cajon, triangle) and strings. Milad Yousufi was born during the civil war in Afghanistan. Music was completely banned at that time by the Taliban. At the age of two he started drawing and drew the piano keys on paper and pretended to play. After the Taliban rule was defeated in late 2001 the arts flourished in Afghanistan and Yousufi took advantage of every opportunity to study music and art. By the age of 12 he was teaching painting and was able to attend the one and only music school in Kabul. After three years of formal piano training he was one of four students accepted into a music program in Denmark. He was also chosen to represent Afghanistan at music festivals in The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Germany, where he placed third in the International Golden Key competition in Frankfurt. After his return to Afghanistan, Yousufi concentrated on teaching piano, theory, and a course of the Sibelius music notation software at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. In 2011 the Afghan Youth Orchestra was formed with Yousufi as pianist and its first Afghan conductor. He also arranged music for their performances. Two years later, in 2013, they made a tour of the United States playing sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the New England Conservatory.
“HAS A DREAM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE FUTURE OF M U S I C A N D C U LT U R E I N AFGHANISTAN.”
32 DULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
MILAD YOUSUFI Upon moving to the United States, Yousufi was awarded a full scholarship to attend Mannes School of Music as an undergraduate studying piano with Simone Dinnerstein. He also studied jazz piano and improvisation with Uri Caine, orchestration with Rudolph Palmer, music arrangement with Jacob Garchik and Matt Haimovitz and film music with Michael Bacon. He graduated from Mannes School of Music in 2020 and is currently pursuing a masters degree in composition with Dr. Dalit Warshaw at Brooklyn College. Freedom was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Yousufi states on his website that he “has a dream to make a difference in the future of music and culture in Afghanistan.” He has definitely made a great start!
