Music Critic, Stephan Smoliar (San Francisco) of EXAMINER.COM: 
“Arash Majd’s “Strenuus," which is Latin for energetic (as in “strenuous"), shows great respect for both traditional forms and contrapuntal techniques as significant to the serial  style as they were to the emergence of sophisticated counterpoint during
the Renaissance.  However, this composition was based on chromatics unlikely to be found in the Renaissance and a lyricism
that tended to be anathema to most serial composers. The  result was a highly expressive work unfolding through episodes grounded in intense flows of energy, thus justifying the work’s title. The composition was clearly a demanding one, which
Friction honored with attentive technique and focus."



Hugh Levick, Artistic Director of Hear Now Festival: 
As we thought about the 2023 Krummel commission, we unanimously agreed that Arash Majd’s singular, dynamic and out-of-the-box approach to music was at the top of our list, and that he would write a stunning and compelling piece for the festival, click here for details.



Music Critic, Jim Farber of San Francisco Classical Voice: 
A similar menagerie of instruments was incorporated into the exciting world premiere of Arash Majd’s wild kingdom of a piece, Continuum: Cause and Effect (2022). The composer explained the work as a series of orchestral snaps (literally) that provoke responses. But the pure joy of the piece is Majd’s evocation of a tropical rainforest filled with creeping, crawling, clicking, cawing, fluttering, and singing instrumental creatures. All it needed was Julie Taymor to stage it. You can read the article at https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/las-new-music-scene-abundance