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                         Biography
                                           

As one of the rising most hopeful talents of the German music scene, Dr. Vahid Matejko has attracted critical acclaim from both the Jazz and World Music press. A highly original voice
ermerges from his deep understanding of musical styles and cultures and an instinctive gift for melody and harmony. He is one of the few composers and producers who are active involved in order compositions and productions for different artists and projects but also realizing their own personal and private musical ideas and projects.

His love for music began already in his earliest childhood. From the beginning, he lived also musically in an exciting field between orient and occident. His mother is Iranian and his father is of German and Polish origin. Therefore, it is not unusual that, from an early age, Vahid had a special connection to music from different cultures and is strongly influenced by them.

Since he is 15 years old, Vahid has been teaching in the music school "Haus der Musik & Kunst" (Altenkirchen) the instruments piano and keyboard, as well as improvisation.

Starting in his youth, he travelled with an international music group (including famous stars like Dash Crofts (Seals and Croft, The Champs) through half of Asia with performances in Tokyo, Seoul,  Hong Kong, Manila, Penang and other cities.

Four additional tours followed through the former Sowjet countries, with performances in Belarus and Russia (including stages like Gorky Park in Moscow or Cultural Palast in Minsk). In the Sipopo Show in Minsk he won the first price in a music competition.

Vahid has performed in more than 13 different countries.

Vahid gained different experiences which include solo concerts, ethnic ensembles, pop rock bands, continually working with many different national and international artists, including Sally Oldfield and many others. He won several prices in musical competitions.

Vahid founded different music bands and projects, including the „Vahid Matejko Trio“ (with many own compositions and arrangements). He also founded various own combos, with several brass players and rhythm section for whom he acted as composer and arranger.

2003 Jazz Composition/Arrangement studies at "Hochschule für Musik Köln" (music university of Cologne). Next to mainstream jazz and Big Band composition, his studies also emphasized contemporary jazz, classical composition, orchestra composition, contemporary music, as well as various styles of world music and music of different ethnic cultures.

Vahid researched their origin, background and understanding and adapted their elements into his own musical language and mixed them with jazz, modern classic and many other muscial styles.

He also transferred them to western musical instruments.

2005 Music Therapy studies at the university of Siegen.

Through getting lessons in the Iranian instruments Tar and Ney, Vahid gained an understanding of the theory and expression of classical and folkloristic Persian music and other oriental styles. He also started working with quarter notes.

During an almost 3 month journey through South America, Vahid learned a lot about the culture, music and way of life of the native population and this experience also influenced his further compositions.

In 2006, Vahid released his first debut composer album “ Come Together” (including 42 musicians from 15 different countries). This CD is played in many radio stations in Germany, USA, Canada and France and made him very well known in the German Jazz elite.

Nearly all German famous jazz magazines wrote extensively about Vahid and his production. His work was also covered in the international music press. The compositions of "Come Together" were influenced by a mixture of different cultures, such as Oriental, Asian, African, Klezmer, Balkan and many others. Vahid combined those cultural influences with jazz and modern classic in a unique way. Played by Big Band, different kind of combos and ensembles, as well as various ethnic instruments, with the purpose to unite hearts and cultures through music.  

Vahid Matejkos' first book “Klezmer- Miniatures for Piano” was published by Alfred Publishing in 2008. It contains his own Klezmer compositions, as well as original Klezmer pieces, arranged in Vahid's personal way. An English and a German version is available.

Also in 2008, Vahid graduated with distinction in Jazz Composition/Arrangement with a Diplom Degree from the Music University Cologne.

Additional Klezmer Books were released in 2009: “Vahid Matejkos' Klezmer-Play-Alongs for Clarinet ” and Vahid Matejkos' Klezmer-Play-Alongs for Violine". For playbacks and listening, both works include live recordings of the compositions and arrangements on CD.

2009 release of the second album "Light of Unity" (with 59 musicicans from 5 continents)

including compositions for the powerfull sound of Big Band and Orchestra united and also very new kind of instrumentations and mixtures of jazz, worldmusic, modern classic and other styles.

This cd includes also the "Oborido Suite" ( a composition for oboe with string quartet, digeridoo and different percussions) with its influences of pygmäes-aboriginesmusic, nordic canons, jazz, contemporary music and many others. But also pieces like " Bali Nature " (Classical orchestra with balinesian gamelan instruments and funky grooves with contemporary Jazz) or for example a totally new kind of iranian jazz where old iranian instruments meet with bassclarinet and doublebass and mix the iranian dastgahs with 12 tone music and jazz and so creat something unique which has never been existing before in “Iranian Journey”. This production includes also some of Germanys most famoust jazz soloists like for example Prof. Keith Copeland, Prof. Heiner Wiberny, Prof. Igor Epstein, Frank Gratkowski, Claudio Puntin, Prof. Michael Niesemann, Terence Ngassa, Members from WDR Big Band Cologne, NDR Big Band , Bundes Jugend Jazzorchester, Munich Philharmonie,Cologne Chamber Orchestra and many others.

Order compositions/arrangements and productions for different artist.

2010 film music composition and production for the cinema movie  "Ahnunglsos" with premiere in Cologne

New release of the book" Vahid Matejkos Balkan- Duets for Clarinet" with CD including

recorded with Nicolas Simion

Founding the project  "The Whole World For The Iranian Bahai Youth" 

for which Vahid wrote, arranged and produced the song "Young Heroes Behind closed doors".

Musicians from 5 continents, belonging to the Bahai Faith, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, and other religions, took part, in order to offer their support to the Iranian Bahai Youth.  This song is about the Bahai Youth in Iran who are excluded from school education and universities, because they refuse to deny their faith and convert to Islam.

In 2010/2011 Vahid writes a serial of workshops about different worldmusic styles in the music magazine " clarino print" (Germany´s leading magazine for brass instruments)

                                        

Vahids work contains next to his own projects, different order songs, compositions and arrangements for Singers, Big- Band, Orchestras, combos, ensembles, TV music, all kind of instrumentalists and soloists and all kinds of different music productions.