We first met Amir Siraj in 2015 when he was participant in the first-ever Cliburn Junior Piano Competition. Back then, he was a 15-year-old, who along with the other teen contestants, playfully pounded out "Chopsticks" and "Heart and Soul" during an interview with Jerome Weeks.
In the eight years since, Amir received his masters in music from The New England Conservatory of Music and has become a concert pianist. He's appeared as guest soloist with the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops and played for dignitaries around the world including Korean President Moon Jae-in, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Queen Rania of Jordan.
If that wasn't enough, in his spare time, Amir graduated from Harvard University with both a bachelor and master’s degree in astrophysics. His studies focused on theoretical astrophysics which lead him to the discovery of the first meteorite to come from outside our solar system--a finding that CNN called one of ten “extraordinary cosmic revelations” of 2022.
Amir is taking a brief break from interstellar discoveries and is back in DFW this week performing a series of Cliburn community concerts ahead of the third edition of the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival. We caught up with him to ask him about motivation, inspiration and what advice he'd give to the next generation of rising stars.
What was the first song you played on the piano?
Oh, that's a hard one. I grew up with both my older sisters playing the piano. We had we had a little spinet in our kitchen of our condo. They were taking piano lessons and I would just hop up there and annoy them. I guess it might have been something like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” I ended up begging my parents for piano lessons at the age of three. They didn't want to start me off too early--you know, turn my interest off. So, I ended up starting at the age of four. But my first song was probably whatever my sisters were learning at the time.
You’ve performed all over the world, what’s been your most surprising concert?
I was getting ready for my debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and I was doing Liszt piano concerto number one. It has a very short but bombastic orchestral introduction, and the piano comes in right afterwards. I sat down on the bench, the conductor begins the piece, and I was surrounded for the first time by this wall of sound from the Boston Symphony Orchestra -- this orchestra that I've been listening to since I was a little baby. I was so floored that I almost forgot to come in. It was a close call. I almost didn't make it in on the first octave. That must have been my craziest moment on stage, because it was disorienting. It felt like I was in another dimension.
In addition to being a concert pianist you’re also a Harvard graduate with a master’s degree in astrophysics. We hear all the time about the connection between math and music. How do the stars and music connect with you?
For me, music and science are two sides of the same coin. They sort of give oxygen to each other in my life. I think the reason for that is musicians and scientists are very similar in a lot of ways. They both look for things that stick out-- anomalies, and they try to learn from those anomalies and communicate the importance of what they learn. Both disciplines really rely on imagination, because without imagination, you'll never find new beauty, whether it be in a piece of music or whether it be in nature.
So, you know, I think that obviously the practice of them is very different. The keyboard versus chalk on the blackboard or on paper. But they complement each other quite nicely for me. And they both remind me that it's important to retain a childlike curiosity. Having this sense both when I'm at the piano and working on a new piece and also when I'm trying to think about a new possible theory in astrophysics, remembering that we're on this little island of knowledge in a vast ocean of ignorance. And, you know, I think it's a healthy attitude to be a little bit more childlike and open minded and taking risks. And that tends to yield results both in both in music and in science.
What drives you?
I'm very grateful to have an extremely supportive family and friends. My family has encouraged me to follow my passions from a very young age. And my friends, both from the public schools in Brooklyn, where I grew up, to Harvard to New England Conservatory, have supported me a lot and have just seen me for who I am. One thing that my parents instilled in me from a very early age is not to define myself by the things that I do. I think that's been really helpful for me and has allowed me to explore and take risks.
I also get a lot of inspiration from nature. If we think of the universe as a great play, and we don't know what the play's about, but we do know that it's not about us. Because the universe is 13.8 billion years old, and humans have only been around for 300,000 years. So that takes some of the pressure off and allows us to spend more time focusing on what we can do for each other, what can we offer each other and what can we learn about the world. I think that sort of sums up my motivations.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Oh, so many. Chocolate. I have no self-control when it comes to chocolate. And yeah, with chocolate in front of me I will eat all of it. My other guilty pleasure is TV series. I love “Succession,” “Ozark” and “Ted Lasso.” Yeah, I love TV.
You were a participant in the very first Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition in 2015, and like you, many of the young participants in this year's competition have competed worldwide. What was unique about the Cliburn for you and what's your advice to current participants about taking it all in?
Oh, so much. I mean, it was really a singular experience. The Cliburn really does an extraordinary job of taking care of the participants. Also turning it into not just a competition, but a learning experience as well as an opportunity to interface with the jury and other practitioners.
The other thing I'll mention is that some of my greatest friendships were formed during the 2015 inaugural Van Cliburn competition. People that I'm very, very close with to this day I met there. And I think that goes to show the kind of environment that the Cliburn's able to create in a setting where usually it’s very competitive and antisocial.
So, the advice I would give to participants is, have fun. Really enjoy the music and come into it with the open mind. You might make some of your best friends here. The Cliburn is a really caring organization and this is going to be one of the best experiences of your life.
It's graduation season. What advice do you have to young people who are faced with indecision about their next steps or their future?
I would say. A couple of things. The first is, any decision that you make now is not necessarily a decision for the rest of your life. It doesn't have to be because what you're doing in your twenties can look very different from what you're doing in your thirties and forties or fifties or beyond. Sometimes decisions that feel really big and may even feel irreversible are actually on the scale of your whole life are rather small.
The other thing is, it's always a good idea to bring your whole self to whatever you're doing. We are all complex creatures with lots of skills and lots of interests and quirks and hobbies and passions. Let's say you were in conservatory or you're in another setting where it seems like you should only be bringing one part of yourself to the table. It's always richer and there's always a better result when you bring your whole self and all of your interests and all your passions.
And the last thing I'll add is, sometimes it's less about what to do or the decision that you're actually faced with, but more about the attitude you have when or after you make that choice. The sort of energy and verve with which you bring to the choice is often much more consequential than the actual choice itself.
What's next for you? Is it a dream concert? A dream celestial discovery?
So, I will be playing my graduation recital here at the New England Conservatory in a couple of weeks, obviously coming to Texas. And then I'll be heading off to sea to look for pieces of the first interstellar meteor, which I discovered. And we think that there might be some very small fragments of it on the sea floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. So, we are setting sail and that should be fun.
And then I'm spending the second half of my summer doing music in Aspen. And in the fall, I'll be starting my PhD in astrophysics at Princeton University. and they have a brand-new music building with something like 46 Steinways, and they're very close to New York, so I'm excited to be pursuing both of my passions in music and science in Princeton for the next few years.
Amir performs a series of free Cliburn in the Community concerts this week:
- Tuesday, May 16 – 4 p.m. at Pegasus Plaza, 1500 Main St., in Downtown Dallas
- Wednesday, May 17 - 5:30 p.m., Spark! Dallas, 409 Botham Jean Blvd, Dallas
- Thursday, May 18 – 7 p.m., Grace Chapel at White's Chapel, 85 S White Chapel Blvd, Southlake
In Good Question, we're getting to know movers and shakers in the arts a little bit better with a few quirky and thought-provoking questions. Who should we talk to next? E-mail me at tpowell@kera.org.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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