"My grandmother had Alzheimers. She lost the ability to speak, and degenerated to where she died because she forgot to breathe. My mom saw her mother disappear right in front of her. I was in the Bible belt, but for me this really challenged the idea of a soul. Then one spring my sister and I were T-boned by a drunk driver who’d had eight drinks. That was another confirmation that the world must just be chaotic."

Violinist, composer and producer Behnam Arzaghi (Soundcloud) talks about the constant presence of death and illness growing up, and how it sped up the maturing of his perspective on life and mortality.

Behnam began playing violin at 6, writing and performing at 12, debuted solo with orchestra at 13, and premiered a violin conc ...