Whatcom Flute Ensemble in Bellingham, WA

Iranian flutist, Mehrdad Gholami, received presidential award and Iran’s National Elites Foundation scholarship to continue his training at the University of Tehran, where he studied with Dr. Azin Movahed.

 During his time in Tehran, Mehrdad won numerous solo and chamber music competitions in Iran such as Fadjr International Music Festival, Iran Young Artists Competition, and Tehran Flute Competition. In the U.S., He has won concerto competitions as well as being a finalist in Texas Flute Society’s Myrna Brown Young Artist Competition.

As an orchestral player, he started with Tehran’s ensembles such as Tehran Contemporary Ensemble, Tehran City Hall Orchestra and Tehran Symphony. Later, he came back to work with TSO as their principal flute player under the direction of Maestro Alexander Rahbari for the 2015’s summer season. Other orchestral appearances include Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra (Los Angeles, Disney Hall debut), Fort Worth symphony and McKinney Philharmonic.

A recipient of Susan and Ford Schumann fellowship in 2017, Mehrdad attended Aspen Music Festival, where he served as Aspen Contemporary Ensemble (ACE) flute fellow and studied with Nadine Asin, Mark Sparks and Demarre McGill for three consecutive summers (2017-19). In August 2019, Mehrdad made his solo debut with Aspen Contemporary Ensemble performing Judith Shatin’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (Ruah). Other fellowships include Atlantic Music Festival’s contemporary ensemble fellowship served on Summer 2021.

At an early age, Mehrdad started working with composers and devoted his time to commission, premiere and record new sounds for flute with various ensembles. These collaborations with Iranian composers led to the creation of more than hundreds of new pieces for flute with different ensembles and media. His first solo album was published by his alma mater, University of Tehran, in a joint project with Iran Flute Society. He has appeared in recordings in various genres ranging from contemporary classical music to world music and pop music. Mehrdad’s efforts in presenting, performing and publishing new Iranian music has led to a growth of compositions for flute by Iranian composers and similar projects inspired by his “Iran Flute Project”. His most recent album, This Vast Sky,  was published in July 2024, and is available on all streaming platforms.

Mehrdad’s Doctoral dissertation was on the subject of “Iranian contemporary music for flute” where he included an expansive chapter on the history of Western music in Iran. As an advocate of his “Iran Flute Project”, Mehrdad has premiered works by Iranian composers at the National Flute Association and Mid-Atlantic Conventions. He received his MM and DMA in flute performance under the guidance of Dr. Shauna Thompson at Texas Christian University. In August 2023, Mehrdad’s dissertation was named the winner of National Flute Association’s Graduate Research Competition.

​A sought-after pedagogue, Mehrdad has served as an adjudicator on panels for National Flute Association, Texas Flute Society and Texas Music Educators Associations. He has offered masterclasses and workshops on various topics from beginner pedagogy to contemporary techniques across the United States. On high demand as a teacher, Mehrdad’s students have won national awards in addition to students having qualified for the exclusive TMEA all-state band every year. Mehrdad will be performing on the keynote speaker event of the NafMe NW Chapter in Spokane, 2025. 

​Mehrdad is the Assistant Professor of Flute at Western Washington University and coordinator of the woodwinds area. For more information please visit : https://cfpa.wwu.edu/people/gholamm

In addition to performing and teaching, Mehrdad enjoys spending time as an audio engineer and the founder of www.canopystudio.net serving his fellow musicians.