Album Notes

Home. An obscure entity. Walls that provide shelter, protection, yet isolation. Within these walls we can find love, laughter, or unimaginable cruelty. Our so-called homes are either scattered deep into remote mountains or crunched up next to one another in overcrowded metropolitan
areas. Where is home? Is it where some of us spent our childhood? Is it where our families relocate to? Maybe home is the place that I read about, saw pictures of, and often heard my family refer to sadly and nostalgically as “back home”. Perhaps all or neither are home. I like to think that as human beings we share a common place in our hearts which shelters our spirit. That is home. A place with boundless energy that guides our consciousness. A place with no geographic or historic significance. A place with no borders or anthems. Perhaps while facing unfathomable challenges, mankind can alter its course toward peace and prosperity by changing its perception of what home actually is. A place that Rumi calls “placeless, a trace of
traceless.”



Born in Tehran Iran, Mazdak Khamda had his first piano lesson at the age of eleven, and began to pursue music as a career in 1992. Mazdak holds a Bachelors of Music degree in piano performance from University of the Pacific, and a Masters of Music degree in piano pedagogy from University of Oregon. Some of Mazdak’s instructor’s have included Frank Wiens, and Dean Kramer in piano, and Bernard Scherr, Kurt Erickson and Clark Suprynowicz in composition. A recipient of such awards as The Music Teachers Association Scholarship (1993), University of the Pacific Music Scholarship (1994), and a Graduate Fellowship from University of Oregon (1998), Mazdak is a private music instructor in the Bay Area and a member of the music faculty at Napa Valley College. As a composer, Mazdak has
published works for solo piano, voice, chamber ensemble, choir, orchestra, and electronic music. Mazdak’s most recent compositions include One Song for a capella choir, Presence for String Quartet and Mezzo Soprano, and Goblins for full orchestra. As a recording artist, Mazdak has released four independent albums which have received rave reviews. In regards to Mazdak’s third album Contemplations, the former president of CDBaby.com Derek Severs was quoted by saying that “Contemplations is one of the best albums I have ever heard.”