Seattle Classic Guitar Society
Articles

I first met Naeim three years ago, when he was performing in a Master Class for Eduardo Fernandez. Actually – that’s not quite right: I met a nice young man named Ali. Same person, different name. Naeim and I met recently at a coffee shop for an informal interview and a nice cup of mocha (me) and a drip coffee with milk in it (him) – and he told me about the name change. “Why?” I asked. He explained that “Ali” is on all of his official documents – birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, social security – and it made sense to use it when he first came to this country. But it’s not his preferred name; it never felt quite right. His family, friends, and co-workers all know him by “Naeim”. He chose his graduation from the University of Washington as a good time to change. Naeim bought me coffee after a quick struggle between us for who was going to treat. He won easily with his quick classical guitar reflexes and fingers honed through many hours of practice; the charming grin also helped his cause. We sat down to talk. “Why guitar, and how long have you played?” I began. Easy question. Right? Not really. Naeim is from Isfahan (famous for its ancient architectural ruins) in Iran (famous for other reasons). Due to difficulties getting an education, he left Iran at the age of 17, spent two years in Turkey, and then came to the US. Naeim studied English and earned his A.A. at Edmonds Community College. It was during this time, in 2006, that he began his studies in classical guitar with Michael LeFevre. I was amazed to learn that Naeim started from absolute scratch – he couldn’t read a note of music and had never played an instrument before. He hadn’t even grown up listening to Western classical music. Naeim quickly dropped his previous plans of studying Optometry in favor of classical guitar. He was admitted into the music program at the UW, and earned his performance degree with Michael Partington. Naeim graduated this past June. Whew! What a story. I fumbled with my notebook, thinking about how hard Naeim must have worked and how very much he must have wanted to play classical guitar. I was impressed. “So,” I continued, “what do you find most challenging? Most interesting? What is your favorite part of playing classical guitar?” Naeim sipped his coffee. He stated the most challenging thing was learning to play as part of an ensemble. Naeim shuddered and then laughed. “It was so frustrating and embarrassing at first! I had no idea at all how to play with other people.” Naeim's favorite thing is performing. He loves being on stage. Does he ever get nervous? “Sure. It never goes away. I try to find the 'zone'. The more I perform, the more I find ways to deal with the nervousness.” Naeim also mentioned that he is very careful about the music he chooses to perform: he likes a challenge, but above all he strives to make his pieces musical. Plans for the future? He has applied for a Fulbright scholarship in France; he is also looking at several grad schools. His dream? Naeim would love to be a touring performer. His current endeavor? He is working on building his teaching studio and is actively looking for students. You can visit his website at www.naeimrahmani.com for more information. Thank you to Naeim for this interview! I very much enjoyed hearing his story. For all of you who remember my promise from the last article: I asked Michael Partington how many hours he practices a day. He very kindly wrote this in response: “…The real answer is… 3 to 5 hours a day. If I’m being good… it does depend on what’s going on for me, learning new repertoire, preparing for concerts or a recording.” Thanks, Michael!