Mehrdad Gholami

Iranian flutist, Mehrdad Gholami, received the presidential award and Iran’s National Elites Foundation scholarship to continue his training at the University of Tehran. As an orchestral player, he started with Tehran’s ensembles such as the Tehran Contemporary Ensemble, Tehran City Hall Orchestra, and Tehran Symphony. Later, he came back to work with TSO as their principal flute. Other orchestral appearances include the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra (Los Angeles), Fort Worth Symphony, and McKinney Philharmonic.

A recipient of Susan and Ford Schumann fellowship in 2017, Mehrdad attended the Aspen Music Festival, where he served as an Aspen Contemporary Ensemble (ACE) flute fellow and studied with Nadine Asin, Mark Sparks, and Demarre McGill for three consecutive summers (2017-19). In August 2019, Mehrdad made his solo debut with Aspen Contemporary Ensemble performing Judith Shatin’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (Ruah). Mehrdad’s first solo album was published by his alma mater, the University of Tehran, in a joint project with the Iran Flute Society. Mehrdad’s efforts in presenting, performing, and publishing new Iranian music have led to a growth of compositions for flute by Iranian composers and similar projects inspired by his “Iran Flute Project”. His most recent album, “This Vast Sky” was released in Summer 2024 and is streaming on all music platforms. In August 2023, Mehrdad’s dissertation was named the winner of the National Flute Association’s Graduate Research Competition.

Dr. Mehrdad Gholami is the Assistant Professor of Flute at Western Washington University and coordinator of the woodwinds area.