PCC’s Board Meetings
Persian Cultural Center’s board of directors holds its meetings every second Wednesday of the month. The last two meetings took place on November 9 and December 14, 2022.
A Poet and a Poem – November 16, 2022
In a virtual program, hosted by the Poetry group, the life and poems of the twelfth-century poet, Anvari Abiverdi, were discussed. Attendees also recited their own selected poems. In observation of the holidays, the December session was postponed until January.
San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) – November 2022
The 23rd annual San Diego Asian Film Festival was held from November 3 to 12 with the screening of more than 130 films from 30 different countries, including “No Bears,” directed by Jafar Panahi, “Subtraction,” directed by Mani Haghighi, and the short film “Futility Season,” directed by Hoda Sobhani. For more information about the festival and these films go to sdaff.org/2022.
The monthly Film and Discussion sessions were not held in November and December due to conflicts with Thanksgiving and end-of-year holidays.
A Journey in the Folk and Traditional Music of Iran – November 19, 2022
On the evening of Saturday, November 19, 2022, the Conrad Prebys Music Center’s Experimental Theater witnessed a great concert by two permanent master musicians, Mohammad Ghavihelm and Khosro Soltani. Mr. Ghavihelm, percussionist, with tombak, Daf, and dohol accompanied Mr. Soltani on wind instruments, ney, balaban, and sorna in performing many folk and traditional melodies. This program was sponsored by the UCSD Music Department and Chehre-Azad Endowment and cosponsored by PCC.
Voices From Iran Concert – December 10, 2022
PCC was honored to host the world premiere concert by the students of MOAASER, an online music academy,on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Compositions by Iranian students were performed by a group of excellent musicians. The program was in three parts. The first and third parts consisted of pre-recorded electronic pieces of music. The second part was performed by a live chamber orchestra. The following information about MOAASER and the composers is extracted from the concert program:
“Since 2020, MOAASER has held annual courses on contemporary music research for Iranian students. Due to the ongoing “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran, we had to pause our fall course this quarter. As a result of constant horrific news, artists lost motivation for work/creation, and many concerts were canceled. The artists were/are mourning in the wake of the ongoing massacre. The internet shutdown in Iran also significantly hindered our ability to connect digitally with MOAASER students. Consequently, this situation has caused a number of problems for the continuation of our fall course this year.
Despite adverse conditions, MOAASER continues to keep its door open and aims to support the activities of students by amplifying their voices around the world. The purpose of tonight’s concert is exactly that. Our students have taken inspiration from the current events and have used that to compose many of the works which you will hear tonight.”
The program was led by Nasim Khorassani and made possible with the help of the UCSD Music Department and the Chehre-Azad Endowment Fund.
Performers: Joseph Bourdeau – conductor, Mitchell Carlstrom – piano, Tresa Diaz de Cossio – flute, Peter Ko – cello, Kosuke Matsuda – percussion, Grace Talaski – flute, Peyman Salehyan – setar, and Ilana Waniuk – violin.
Yalda Night Gathering – December 16, 2022
Yalda Night gathering was held at the IAC. The program consisted of poetry and a performance of “Shahname Khani.” In honor of the women and youth of Iran and the struggle for freedom, a candlelight vigil was held at the end of the program. This event was free of charge.
PCC’s Youth Committee
The Persian Cultural Youth Committee had its monthly meeting on Friday, December 9. The November Food Drive, with a toy drive, was a success. They collected 500 pounds of food that was donated to the San Diego Food Bank. They also collected lots of toys which will be distributed to children in need. The committee held a family movie night at IAC on December 9 to welcome Afghan refugee children to our community. On Thanksgiving day, they participated in and raised $900 for Father Joe’s Turkey Trot. In addition, tutoring is still available for those who are interested. Please look for event details in our weekly newsletter or on PCC social media. Thank you for always supporting our community.
