Listen to some of my Pieces

Whisper in Wind

ARTISTS:
Sharon Harms, voice

Samane Paya, voice

Stephanie Griffin, viola
Benjamin Fingland, clarinet
Christopher Oldfather, piano

Electronics

Music and Lyrics by Samane Paya

Premiered by Coy Mistress Quartet in November 2024. the piece is about the composer jurney.

Composer’s note:

In the past, I sang in the streets of Tehran, fully aware of the risks. As you may know, it is forbidden for women to sing solo in public, and the consequences of being caught by the police could have been severe. Despite this, I chose to be brave and pursue the path I believed in. Those moments of courage and defiance became the foundation for "Whisper in Wind"—a piece born out of a profound longing for freedom, both personal and collective. I’ve been seating on these live recordings of those days for a few years and have finally decided to make new music from them.

The composition is shaped around three symbolic characters: Past, Present, and Future. The Past is a seeker, yearning for hope and freedom amid constraints and fear. I have used my street live’s singing, to show this character. The Present represents someone who has achieved freedom but is unable to fully embrace it, held captive by the lingering shadows of the past. I am singing live to show this character. The Future is the voice of freedom itself—a guiding force that calls out to the Present, urging her to awaken and recognize the light that surrounds her. Sharon sings this character.

Elegy

ARTISTS:

Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin

Alex Shiozaki, violin
Stephanie Griffin, viola

Michael Haas, cello

Music by Samane Paya

The Piece "Elegy" premiered by Momenta Quartet in February 2024, was composed in response to the sorrow of death. It is dedicated to the memory of all the people we have lost in these years in Iran. The main figure of the piece represents the tears of grief, slowly streaming down from our eyes.

Barelaha (O Lord)

ARTISTS:

Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek

Martha Cluver

Eliza Bagg

Music by Samane Paya

The Piece “Barelaha” premiered by Modern Medieval in October 2023, was composed based on a Folk Song “Gole Baboone”( chamomile flowers).

when I wrote this piece, it was in the early day of my migration to America. I kept wondering why I had to be forced away from my homeland. The first two lines of the original poem about the chamomile flowers were constantly on my mind:

"O Lord, for whom does your spring come?
For whom do these chamomile flowers bloom?"

I was thinking what value a flower has, when it blooms in the absence of loved ones? when the sorrow of exile has made everything pale and dim? I decided to write a piece with this part of the poem. A piece dedicated to all migrants whose migration was not their first choice."
Perhaps for us, the spring that is coming is not made of earthly flowers, but of a hope to return. A day when we will once again return to our homeland, where the scent of its flowers and soil will once more soothe our hearts, weary from exile.

Rehearsing the Death of My Father

ARTISTS:
Derek Ellis, writer
Victoria Popritkin, voice

Tyler Tucker, piano

Music by Samane Paya

Word of Mouth Collaboration Series, BU ART MUSEUM, BINGHAMTON April 2024
Premiere of the piece for Voice and Piano in Collaboration with Creative Writing and Voice Department.

The Little Girl

Large Orchestral Piece

Music by Samane Paya

The day I embarked on writing this piece saw me in the throes of punishing, searing days of pain and challenge. The writing was the expression I sought through which to commit to words the battle raging all through my mind and soul. It is the tale of a girl in mourning, battling her recalcitrant inner being. Rebellion and torpor could both trigger her mental breakdown; and this eternal struggle will never end in a win, nor in a loss.