Courtesy of Payam Larijani Oral surgery can’t stop
Payam Larijani from strumming his guitar. Larijani
will play a free concert at the Organ Studio in Shoenberg Hall on
Nov. 30.
By Suneal Kolluri
Daily Bruin Contributor
Aspiring classical guitarist Payam Larijani won’t let
anything stop him from practicing his guitar ““ not even
hospitalization after a difficult surgery.
Larijani, a fourth-year music student, will play a free concert
at the Organ Studio in Schoenberg Hall on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m.
The performance, originally scheduled for mid-October, had to be
postponed when Larijani’s lower jaw and neck became seriously
infected following the removal of his wisdom teeth in July.
“The whole summer, I was just out of it. I would take
eight Advil a day, plus whatever else they prescribed to me,”
he said.
Larijani went to about five dentists who all gave him different
advice. Despite using painkillers, the infection continued to get
worse. When he finally went into the UCLA Medical Center, doctors
informed him that he had to have surgery.
After surgery, Larijani spent six difficult days in the
hospital.
“I played guitar as much as I could,” he said.
“I was just really bummed out.
“I couldn’t even look at myself in the
mirror,” he continued. “(The swelling) was equivalent
to two golf balls in my face all the time. My eye was swollen shut,
my mouth could barely open, I was on an IV all the time.”
Larijani was able to ease his own pain as he entertained the
nurses, patients and doctors in the Medical Center with his
guitar.
“Playing just got my mind off of it,” he said.
“It relaxed me a little bit, it took me away from the
environment.”
Larijani’s concert will host a variety of music including
songs by J.S Bach, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Erik Satie and Luys Narvaez.
Also performing is Evan Marcus, a friend of Larijani. Marcus will
play mostly Spanish guitar during the performance.
Larijani, who has been playing guitar for seven years, hopes to
one day make it as a classical guitar performer.
“I want to be a performer so I need as many opportunities
as I can get to play in front of people,” said Larijani.
“I need to see if people like it and if I have a chance at
doing this, because it’s a lot of work.”
According to Larijani, the UCLA music department agreed to let
him hold his upcoming performance on a trial basis.
“The Organ Studio only holds 50 people. I’m hoping
to fill it so they’ll give me Jan Popper Hall for my next
concert,” Larijani said. “It holds about
100.”
Larijani credits a wide variety of artists as influences on his
music, including classical guitarist Andres Segovia, Pink Floyd,
Dave Matthews and even Tupac.
“I like anybody who is good at what they do,”
Larijani said.
Aside from classical music, Larijani also enjoys many other
musical styles.
“I like the variety and the portability of the
guitar,” he said. “You can play classical music, you
can play rock guitar.”
Larijani has been practicing some of the pieces he will be
performing for more than a year, including works by another one of
his major influences, J.S. Bach.
“The chord changes are really nice (in Bach’s
pieces),” Larijani said. “The feel is so perfect,
everything is so well thought out. I think it works really nicely
on the guitar.”
Larijani hopes to teach a beginning guitar class this summer if
the program will let him.
“I like to teach a lot. I got a couple private students.
It doesn’t really bring me that much cash, but it pays for my
lunches,” he said.
He also intends to pursue graduate school at UCLA.
“I haven’t had a chance to research many other
schools, but from what I’ve seen so far, it looks like I want
to stay here,” he said.
Determined to make his concert the best it can be, Larijani
never misses an opportunity to practice. He can be seen often
playing his classical guitar at different spots around campus.
Larijani hopes to become a professional performer.
When asked what it takes to succeed, Larijani said, “Most
of the people in the music program don’t really want to be
performers just because it’s so competitive. You have to
really have a lot of personality in your music.”
MUSIC: Payam Larijani performs a free concert at the Organ
Studio in Schoenberg Hall on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m.