Pedram Diba (b.1993) is an Iranian-American composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music currently residing in Athens, Georgia, United States. His professional history includes awards such as first-prize winner at the Frost International Composition Competition, third- prize winner of the Untwelve Microtonal Composition Competition, third-prize winner of the Golden-Key International Composition Competition, honorable mentions for the16th Sun River Prize and the Elevate Ensemble international call for scores, Max Stern Fellowship in Music, Graduate Excellence fellowship in Music, and Outstanding Undergraduate Composer.
Diba’s music has been commissioned and performed across the globe by distinguished ensembles and soloists such as contraBAND, Ensemble Ibis, McGill Wind Symphony, ACTOR CORE Ensemble, and Tai-Hei Ensemble, and has been showcased in festivals such as Festival Temporel 2021, NOVA Contemporary Meeting 2021, 4th Annual Research on Contemporary Music Conference (University of North Georgia), Concert Vivier InterUniversitaire 2020, New Music Gathering 2018, White Ibis Ensemble Winter Heat New Music Festival 2017, Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium 2014 and 2016, and Music Today Festival 2014 and 2017. In 2019-2020 Diba was the composer in residence with McGill Wind Symphony.
From 2018 to 2020 Diba was the Vice-President of McGill Association of Student Composers (MASC). Prior to this, for two consecutive years, he was the co-director of the Tai-Hei Ensemble. In 2017 as the co-founder, artistic director, and the conductor of Pacific Northwest Contemporary Orchestra, he put together an orchestra of volunteer musicians in order to perform new works that were submitted through a call for scores. As a result, the orchestra premiered ten orchestral works in a public concert in winter 2017 .
Since 2019 Diba has been a member of the ACTOR Project. The ACTOR Partnership proposes to enhance attention to timbre and orchestration by bringing its musical use to the forefront of scholarship, practice, and public awareness with world-class artists, humanists, and scientists.
Diba earned his master’s degree in composition at McGill University where he studied with Philippe Leroux. Previously he completed a bachelor’s degree in composition at the University of Oregon, where he studied with Robert Kyr and David Crumb. Through masterclasses and workshops, he has also worked with Fabien Lévy, Miguel Azguime, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, and Chen Yi.
Diba’s music is published by Babel Scores and is available both in digital and printed versions.
