Amirali Mortezai
Academic Rank:
Instructor
Department:
Music, Performing Arts and Music Technologies
School:
Liberal Arts
Office: Music Technology Center MTC 204
Phone: 973-328-5432
Email: amortezai@ccm.edu
Education: M.M., New York University, B.M., Rutgers University
Hired: 2025
Amir Mortezai graduated from NYU Steinhardt in 2016 with a Master’s Degree in Music Theory and Composition, where he studied both concert music and film scoring with Paul Chihara and took courses with Pulitzer Prize Winning Composer Julia Wolfe. In 2018, he was the recipient of the ASCAP Henry Mancini Fellowship. He has scored numerous short films, and in 2022 he scored the music for the animated film “Louis I. King of the Sheep” which was played in animation film festivals across the world, including the Berlin Film Festival and the Annecy Film Festival. Initially self-taught as a composer, he attended the EAMA Summer Music Program in Paris where he studied counterpoint and harmony with Dr. Philip Lasser of the Juilliard School, his primary teacher. As a songwriter, he’s taken part in master classes with Roseanne Cash, Glenn Frey, and Phil Galdston. He’s also attended the highScore and CASMI composition festivals.
His bachelor’s degree is in Classical Piano Performance from Rutgers University and he is an alumnus of CCM.