The Black Fish Project’s Keyan Emami and Bijan Sepanji chats exclusively with VNN’s Pragya Diwan about their project, upcoming art film and crowdfunding experience. The Black Fish Project is a multi-genre project composed by Persian-Canadian composer Keyan Emami and commissioned by Ton Beau String Quartet (TBSQ), has crossed the latest hurdle in its tumultuous journey through the pandemic.
The project brings together classical, jazz, and Middle Eastern musicians to tell a story based on the children’s book “The Little Black Fish.” The score challenges the musicians to improvise and respond to one another in real time, bringing the diverse stylistic backgrounds of the performers into dialogue. Originally conceived as a live performance, the pandemic forced the musicians to pivot to a digital recording project, with audio and video versions planned for release in 2022.