Milad Yousufi

Composer and Artist

Milad Yousufi

Milad Yousufi was born in June 1995 during the civil war in Afghanistan. At that time, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in terror and banned the arts, including music. At the age of two, Milad started to draw; not long after, he drew piano keys on paper and pretended to play the paper piano.

Milad is a pianist, composer, conductor, poet, singer, painter and calligrapher from Afghanistan. Milad’s work is deeply inspired by his country and culture. Milad has a dream to make a difference in the future of music and culture in Afghanistan.

Five years after the Taliban rule was lifted, Milad witnessed the arts flourish in Afghanistan and took advantage of every opportunity to learn and study music and art. By the age of 12, he was teaching painting and began attending the one and only music school in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. After only three years of formal piano training, Milad was one of four students accepted into a music program in Denmark. In 2011, he was chosen to represent Afghanistan at various music festivals in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Germany. That year, he placed third in the International Golden Key competition in Frankfurt, Germany.

Upon his return to Afghanistan in 2013, Milad concentrated on teaching piano, music theory, and a course of music notation program (Sibelius) at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

The United Nations, in collaboration with the World Bank and other international bodies, formed The Afghan Youth Orchestra in 2011. That year, Milad was chosen to be the pianist and then became the first Afghan conductor and arranged music for their performances. In 2013, the Afghan Youth Orchestra made a U.S. tour playing sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and New England Conservatory; Milad performed as a pianist at all these venues.

Upon moving to the United States in 2015, Milad was awarded a full scholarship to attend Mannes School of Music as an undergraduate and studied piano with the world-renowned pianist Simone Dinnerstein. He graduated from Mannes School of Music in the spring of 2020. Milad then received his masters degree in composition under Dr. Dalit Warshaw's mentorship from Brooklyn College in 2022. He has been commissioned to compose for numerous venues internationally: The New York Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Center, Refugee Orchestra Project, Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Music Worcester, Terezin Music Foundation, Boston Symphony Hall, Refugee Orchestra Project, Barbican Center in London, Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra, Trio Solisti, Worcester Chamber Music Society, and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Milad is currently on the directory board of Musaics of the Bay, The VISION collective and is an ambassador for Arium TV.

Composer and Artist

Composer and Artist