About

Praised for her "spellbinding" command of the keyboard, pianist and composer Tara Kamangar has performed to capacity audiences in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Her orchestral engagements have included concertos of Beethoven, Grieg, Saint-Saëns, and Rachmaninoff as well as the American premieres of Aminollah Hossein's piano concertos.

An avid recording artist, Tara's solo album “East of Melancholy” reached the top twenty of the classical Billboard chart and streamed aboard Virgin America flights. It was reviewed as "an alluring compilation...rendered with passionate, soulful conviction" (New York Times), "an exquisite album" (NPR), and "intellectually and inspirationally, a captivating recital" (American Record Guide).

As a composer, Tara's works are featured on the Delos/ Naxos and Evidence Classics/ Harmonia Mundi record labels. A keen ethnomusicologist, she has incorporated Kurdish folk music into her compositions, and composed for film.

Dedicated to introducing classical music to mainstream audiences, Tara is a co-founder of the urban-classical project Triptyq Sessions, which debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes classical chart, with videos premiered by Billboard and Yahoo Music. She has also toured extensively as a violinist with Iranian rock and folk musicians.

Tara is an honors graduate of Harvard (Social Anthropology) and London's Royal Academy of Music (Piano Performance).