Ramin Amin Tafreshi (1992) is an Iranian composer and pianist based in the Netherlands. He combines literature, drama, dance, and theatre with his music to tell stories, express emotions, and reflect on society and his surroundings. First and foremost, he is a keen observer, and then an expressive composer who reflects those observations through his music. Moreover, he continuously seeks to bridge cultures from the East and West through his music.

Ramin's works have received notable recognitions, most recently including the Young Art Support Amsterdam (YAA) Award 2023/2024. Additionally, in December 2018, his composition It’s the Voice That Shall Remain won the prestigious Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the Alba Rosa Composition Competition. It was performed by Lilian Farahani and the Amatis Piano Trio at Het Concertgebouw during the Alba Rosa Viva Music Festival. In recent years, Ramin was nominated twice for the Ahk Eindwerkprijs: in 2021 for his short opera Saoshyant and in 2024 for his master's thesis Interweaving Cultures and his music composition Soorbâng. Furthermore, his composition Event Horizon: The Point of No Return for harp and electronics, in collaboration with electronic musician Soheil Shayesteh and harpist Joost Willemze, was a finalist in the 8th edition of the USAIHC Ruth Inglefield Composition Contest 2024. The piece was commissioned for and featured in both winning programs of Dutch Classical Talent 2023 and the Grachten Festival 2023 by Joost Willemze.

In February 2025, Ramin's orchestral work Confessions of the Mulberry Tree, commissioned by the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest and funded by Het Fonds Podiumkunsten, premiered at the Concertgebouw under the direction of Gemma New.

Previously, in 2022, Ramin was the commissioned composer for the Nederlands Studenten Kamerorkest (Nesko), funded by Het Fonds Podiumkunsten for their concert tour Staat Sterk, in which his work Through Windows of Desire for soprano and chamber orchestra had its premiere with soloist Elizaveta Agrafenina under the direction of Stijn Berkouwer.

 

In the same year, he was the invited composer for the Toonzetters project, where his work Soorbâng for four-hands piano and two percussionists was featured. The project toured the Netherlands and Italy and was recorded on an album by the label 7 Mountain Records.

Ramin has collaborated twice with the Opera Forward Festival. In 2020, his short opera IDIOSYNCRATIC (take a deep dive down) was programmed as one of the talent operas at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. His second collaboration came in 2021 when he worked with opera director Sjaron Minailo on his second short opera, Saoshyant, which premiered its first act during the Opera Forward Festival Online.

Ramin’s works have been performed on many international stages and broadcast on radio in countries such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and the U.S. In the Netherlands, his works have been performed at top music festivals such as Dutch Classical Talent, Grachten Festival, Opera Forward Festival, Oranjwoud Festival, Schiermonnikoog Festival, and WonderFeel Festival by inspiring musicians such as the Nederlands Philharmonisch, Nederlands Kamerorkest, Nederlands Studenten Kamerorkest (Nesko), Maat Saxophone Quartet, Dokwerk Saxophone Quartet, Dianto Reed Quintet, Amatis Piano Trio, Brackman Trio, Dudok String Quartet, Elizaveta Agrafenina, Joost Willemze, Lilian Farahani, and many more.

In 2021, Ramin obtained his Bachelor of Music from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he later received his Master's degree in 2024 under the supervision of Willem Jeths, Wim Henderickx, and Richard Ayres.