SHAHRIYAR JAMSHIDI

Illustrious Kurdish Kamānche (four-stringed spiked fiddle) player, composer, and vocalist Shahriyar Jamshidi, with a pronounced cultural background, has devoted his artistic profession to the preservation and transmission of the Kurdish musical heritage. He’s also well-known for his creative and masterful kamānche improvisations, both as a soloist and in ensembles.

Shahriyar is the founder of the Dilan Chamber Ensemble and co-founder of Kamancello. He is a graduate of Tehran University of Art and a former artist-in-residence at Banff Centre.

He has performed at numerous Iranian music venues, including Roudaki Hall, and has been invited for interviews and live performances on several radio and TV channels, including Kurdistan TV, The Voice of America Kurdish, and CBC.

Since settling in Canada in 2012, Shahriyar has consistently sought new musical languages, thereby crossing cultures with his kamānche recitals. He has already performed at the International Society for Improvised Music (ISIM), Switzerland and Canada; High-Fest, Armenia; Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal; Ontario Contact; 33rd World Conference of the International Society for Music Education, Azerbaijan; University of Minneapolis School of Music, United States; Cello Biennial, Netherlands; Canadian Opera Company; University of Glasgow, UK; and collaborated with Windsor (2019) and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (2024).

Shahriyar’s past releases contain five solo albums (Alvanati; Call of the Mountains; A Yellow Flower; The Lullaby of a Nomad; and My Sunset-Land ROJAVA) as well as Meet Me in Tangier; HiRUDiN; Kamancello; Voyage, and Of Shadows.

In addition, Shahriyar Jamshidi has received awards from Canada Arts Council; International Society for Music Education ISME, Netherlands and Australia; Imagine Fund, University of Minneapolis School of Music, United States; SOCAN Foundation; Toronto Arts Council, and Ontario Arts Council.