Aida Shirazi

Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Aida Shirazi is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. Shirazi’s music is described as ”unfolding with deliberation” by The New York Times, “well-made” and “affecting” by The New Yorker, and “unusually creative” by San Francisco Classical Voice.

In her works for solo instruments, voice, ensemble, orchestra, and electronics, Shirazi mainly focuses on timbre for organizing structures inspired by language and literature.

Shirazi’s music has been featured at festivals and concert series, including Manifeste, Wien Modern, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Mostly Mozart, ACHT BRÜCKEN, Heidelberger Frühling, Beethovenfest, OutHear New Music Week, MATA, Marlboro Music Festival, Direct Current, Taproot, Istanbul Music Festival, and Tehran Contemporary Music Festival in venues such as Maison de la Radio France, WDR Funkhaus, Radialsystem Berlin, WDR Funkhaus, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. Her works are performed by Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Miranda Cuckson, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente, Oerknal, Quince Ensemble, Sarah Cahill, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Empyrean Ensemble, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Shirazi holds a Ph.D. in composition and music theory from the University of California, Davis. She has studied with Mika Pelo, Pablo Ortiz, Kurt Rohde, Yiğit Aydın, Tolga Yayalar, Onur Türkmen, and Hooshyar Khayam and participated in workshops and masterclasses by Kaija Saariaho, Mark Andre, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Riccardo Piacentini, and Füsun Köksal.

Shirazi is a 2022 graduate of IRCAM’s “Cursus Program in Composition and Computer Music.” She holds a B.M. in music composition and theory from Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) and a B.A. in classical piano from Tehran University of Art (Iran.) She has studied santoor (traditional Iranian hammered dulcimer) with Parissa Khosravi Samani.

Shirazi is a co-founder and co-artistic director of the Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA.)