TEHRAN -- Tehran Symphony Orchestra General Music Director Ali Rahbari has asked President Hassan Rouhani to obtain approval from the United Nations for the orchestra to perform a concert during the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of New York City has recently invited Rahbari to conduct the orchestra during a concert scheduled on September 27 at Carnegie Hall.

The performance will coincide with the annual UN General Assembly session, which is scheduled to be held from September 15 to 28.

“Since I will be in New York City at that time, I asked Mr. Rouhani to have his aides make all necessary preliminary preparations for a trip to New York City by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at UN Headquarters,” Rahbari told the Persian service of MNA on Monday.

“Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 symbolizes peace and the performance would be helpful under the present circumstances where our senior officials are trying to convince the world of the peaceful purposes of the Iranian nuclear program,” he added.

He asked Rouhani to take his proposal seriously and said that he guarantees a very professional performance at the session of the UN General Assembly, if the president’s aides can obtain UN approval for the concert.

“Be assured that if our diplomats make the appropriate preparations, the Tehran Symphony Orchestra will thrill the whole world by the concert,” Rahbari added.

After the victory in the 2013 presidential election, Rouhani asked cultural officials to reinstate the Iranian symphony orchestras, which were closed down by the government under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Consequently Vienna-based Iranian maestro Rahbari was hired to reestablish the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. He took the helm at the orchestra in early March.

Photo: Ali Rahbari conducts the Tehran Symphony Orchestra during a concert at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on April 23, 2015. (Tasnim/Erfan Kucharis)

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