CHAHIAN, Mozhgan

Iranian composer, singer, folk music researcher and santoor player, born in Isfahan. She studied Iranian music performance and composition at Tehran University of Art, where she later taught as a lecturer. Her work draws extensively on Iranian traditional and folk-music practices, combining them with contemporary compositional approaches. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at Duke University in the United States.
Chahian has received several international distinctions. In 2018 she won First Prize at the International Composition Competition “2 Agosto” in Bologna for Elegy for the Peace, performed by the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, with Chahian herself appearing as a vocalist. She later received the Special Orchestra Prize at the Fem Festival for Hoordokht and other awards in Italy, France and Iran.
Her works include Elegy for the Peace, Hoordokht, Golbang and Hani and Shaymorid for solo viola. Her artistic and scholarly work is closely connected with Iranian traditional and folk music, particularly vocal traditions and regional musical practices.