The Other Minds Festival turns 30! On Thursday–Sunday, October 8–11, 2026, our annual showcase for composers will be held at the Brava Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District.

The Festival opens with Joseph Bohigian’sI Am He Whose Life and Soul Are Torment, an evening-length multimedia work about the life of Armenian film director Sergei Parajanov performed by Khatchadour Khatchadourian and Ensemble Decipher. Tara Baghdassarian, art director; Karo Yagjian, costume designer.

On Night 2, the Swiss-born, New York-based Sylvie Courvoisier combines European chamber music and American avant-jazz in a performance for solo piano. Mahsa Vahdat performs original song settings of Persian poetry, accompanied by setar player Atabak Elyasi. Night 2 ends with string quartet music by Juri Seo performed by Friction Quartet.

Night 3 opens with Kristin Norderval and Elizabeth Gaver, who will present a program for voice, live electronics, Hardanger fiddle, and rebec that reflects on historical and contemporary Norwegian-American exchange. Foreign/Domestic – Zachary James Watkins and John Diaz presents a duo of guitar/electronics and drums. The evening ends with an enlivening set of “Blacktronika” from one of the world’s experts: King Britt on live electronics.

At the final concert of OM 30, Charlemagne Palestine, sovereign of embodied minimalism, graces us with a performance for solo piano.

About Other Minds:

Founded in 1993, Other Minds is a leading proponent for new and experimental music in all its forms, bringing together artists and audiences of diverse traditions, generations, and cultural backgrounds. By fostering cross- cultural exchange and creative dialogue, and by encouraging exploration of areas in new music seldom touched upon by mainstream music institutions, OM is committed to expanding and reshaping the definition of what constitutes “serious music.” From festival concerts, weekly radio broadcasts, and the commissioning of new works, to producing and releasing CDs, to archival preservation of thousands of concerts and composer interviews (which OM distributes free on the internet), OM has become one of the world’s major conservators of new music’s ecology.

I’m thrilled to share a deeply personal project I’m working on in my 2025 SFFILM FilmHouse Residency — and invite you to help make it happen.

I’m directing and producing a full-length documentary called The Dragon Under Our Feet, that follows my journey as a Bay Area artist reconnecting with my Armenian heritage through the art of traditional carpet weaving. What began as an exploration of ancient symbols has grown into a story about identity, resilience, and the fight to preserve culture.

In the film, I create a contemporary stained glass work inspired by centuries-old Armenian carpet motifs — especially the dragon (vishap). Along the way, I meet weavers, elders, and historians in both California and Armenia, from refugee women in Goris weaving to support their families, to museum directors saving rare rugs from war. With these cultural experts as my guide, we uncover the stories these carpets carry — and the questions they raise about heritage, connection, and survival.

We’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign to directly support filming in Armenia this September. Donations are tax-deductible. You can help by contributing or sharing the campaign with your community. Every gesture moves us closer to preserving and sharing these stories.

https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-dragon-under-our-feet#story

Link for Cruise information