Dartanyan Brown

Dartanyan Brown – composer, vocalist, sound designer, bassist, guitarist

A native Iowan, Dartanyan is a 2nd Generation musician and sound designer. Dartanyan is an inductee into Iowa’s Rock’nRoll, Blues and Jazz Halls of Fame. He joins his father, the late Ellsworth Brown as a member of Central Iowa’s Jazz Hall of Fame. Dartanyan’s son Jaimeo Brown is the director of Music at The Branson School in Ross, Ca. where Dartanyan was the Director of Technology from 1996-2002.

In 1987 Dartanyan, at the urging of lifelong friend Teja Bell, moved from Iowa to the Bay Area where they teamed up to record and perform with New Age music pioneers, Suzanne Ciani and Paul Horn. Teja and Dartanyan also produced audio for The Des Moines Science Center’s animatronic Dinosaur installations and Planetarium shows.

A sound designer since the 1990’s, Dartanyan has worked on a variety of projects including “Dr. Seuss ABC” one of the most successful CD-ROM-based learning games of all time.

Returning to Iowa In 2022, Dartanyan collaborated with internationally acclaimed video artist Yorame Mevorach to produce “7even Steps to Heaven” an immersive media installation commissioned by the Des Moines Art Center.

Dartanyan is grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the Spirit Rock Community for a celebration of life, connection and possibility.

He is a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowacci.org) and currently produces words and music for his subscribers on Substack (“My Integrated Life”).