Aida Shirazi
Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Aida Shirazi is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. Shirazi’s music is described as “well-made” and “affecting” by The New Yorker. Her works for solo instruments, voice, ensemble, orchestra and electronics is often influenced by literature, language, and Iranian classical music. Shirazi is the winner of Diaphonia and XelmYa+, ACIMC and Bilgi New Music Festival calls for scores. Her music has been featured in MATA, Klasik Keyifler, Sesin Yolculugu, Young Composers, Young Performers festivals in the United States and Europe, and performed by Andrew McIntosh, Lucy Fitz Gibbon, Ryan McCullough, Alexa Renger, Ellen Jewett, Empyrean Ensemble, FOM (The Friends of MATA) and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Shirazi is a Ph.D. student of composition at the University of California, Davis and works with Pablo Ortiz. She has studied with composers Mika Pelo, Kurt Rohde, Yigit Aydin, Onur Turkmen, Tolga Yayalar, Hooshyar Khayam and Mark Andre. She holds her B.A. in classical piano from Tehran University of Art (Iran), and her B.M. in music composition and theory from Bilkent University (Turkey). Shirazi studied santoor (traditional Iranian dulcimer) with Parissa Khosravi Samani.