BOOM: Banff Musicians in Residence Participant Concert 2

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, Shirazi mainly focuses on timbre for organizing structures inspired by language and literature.

Shirazi’s music has been featured at festivals including Manifeste, Wien Modern, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Mostly Mozart, ACHT BRÜCKEN, Beethovenfest, and Tehran Contemporary Music Festival in venues such as Maison de la Radio France, WDR Funkhaus, Radialsystem Berlin, 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, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Shirazi holds a Ph.D. in composition and music theory from the University of California, Davis. She is a 2022 graduate of IRCAM’s Cursus Program in Composition and Computer Music. Shirazi studied santoor (Iranian traditional hammered dulcimer) with Parissa Khosravi Samani. Shirazi is a founding member and co-artistic director of the Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA.)

Aida Shirazi is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Ann-Kristin Sofroniou is a Swedish/Cypriot pianist, performing artist, researcher and educator that is currently based in Athens, Greece. Her work is characterized by explorations of piano repertoire in inventive ways by integrating elements of improvisation, interdisciplinary collaborations, diverse repertoire from various genres, and new media. Within her practice, she aims to explore the relations between research, piano performance and community engagement practices by creating collaborative and interactive artistic projects.

Ann-Kristin holds a PhD in Creative Practice/Piano Performance (Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London) with the title ‘Recycling Music-Recycling Performance: Exploring the use of existing music in piano works by Rochberg, Goehr, and Sharman’ with a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation. From 2018-2023, she held the position of ‘Coordinator of Research and Educational Design’ at the Learning & Participation Department of the Greek National Opera. In 2023-2024, Ann-Kristin was an adjunct lecturer at the department of Musicology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the class “Curating for Music and Culture”. 

Ann-Kristin Sofroniou is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Shahriyar Jamshidi, a Kurdish-Canadian kamānche/ kamāncheh player, composer, and vocalist with a pronounced cultural background is renowned for his creative and masterful kamānche improvisations, both as a soloist and in ensembles. He is a graduate of Tehran University of Art and a former artist-in-residence at Banff Centre. Shahriyar has devoted his artistic profession to the preservation and transmission of the Kurdish musical heritage.

Since settling in Canada in 2012, Shahriyar has consistently sought new musical languages, thereby crossing cultures with his kamānche recitals. He already performed at the University of Minneapolis School of Music; Cello Biënnale Amsterdam; University of Glasgow; the 33rd World Conference of International Society for Music Education (ISME), Azerbaijan; Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal; Canadian Opera Company; McMaster University; Sound Symposium XXI; and collaborated with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (2019) and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (2024). He released four solo albums - his latest recording “My Sunset-Land ROJAVA” is dedicated to all women who lost their lives to liberate Kobanî, Rojava (Western Kurdistan in Syria) in 2015.

Shahriyar has received several Canadian and international awards including ISME in 2018. 

Shahriyar Jamshidi is generously supported by the David and Peggy Leighton Endowment and Banff Centre Artists' Awards. 

Miranda Currie is a captivating northern Indigenous singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, living and working among the Dene people in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She walks in two worlds, with one foot in her Swampy Cree heritage and the other foot in her Euro-Canadian ancestry.

In 2022, she was awarded Indigenous Artist of Excellence by Music NWT. Her solo debut album Up in the Air was nominated for Aboriginal Songwriter of the year by the CFMA’s in 2015.

In 2025, Miranda will be Sub-Arctic Sing-A-Long! This, her third children’s album, introduces listeners to different genres of music, all from a northern indigenous lens. Songs like “My Ribbon Skirt” are up-beat and celebratory while “Do You Know Why?” speaks sensitive truths about why we wear our orange shirts on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Miranda’s songs are interactive and include indigenous language and stories that will delight family audiences.

Miranda has graced stages of festivals, including Folk on the Rocks, Canmore Folk Festival, and Snowking's Winter Festival, and showcased her artistry at Breakout West. Her performances are infused with passion and authenticity, leaving audiences spellbound with her unapologetic vocals and storytelling prowess. Through her music, Miranda Currie attempts to change the Indigenous narrative in Canada in a positive way

Miranda Currie is generously supported by the Jenny Belzberg Endowment and Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Born in the Black Forest, she grew up between Germany, Uganda, and Burkina Faso. She began with violin and piano lessons at the age of 6. In 2008, she started her artistic career in violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig and graduated in 2014 with the highest honors. In 2009, she also began Theatre Studies at the University of Leipzig, completing her degree in 2014. 

At the end of 2014, she was hired as a violinist by the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where she won a stability position in a competition in 2018. She has been contracted by the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón for various chamber music formats.

Since 2017, she has been a co-founder and concertmaster of the String Orchestra Cuerdas del Plata and is also the composer and director of the string quartet Azabache. With Azabache, she has toured Europe, performing in various venues and festivals, including the Tango Festival in Tarbes (France).

In February 2023, she won the position of tango violin teacher in the advanced cycle at the Escuela de Música Popular Avellaneda (Empa). She conducts tango seminars for string players in Argentina and abroad. 

Katharina Deissler is generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment.

Adriana began her violin studies at the age of 10 with Prof. Santiago de Angulo (Colombia). Subsequently, her teachers included Ricardo Rodríguez, Norberto Minces, José Bondar, and Daniel Robuschi. She participated in violin and chamber music seminars and masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Felix Olschofka, Jack Glatzer, Haydeé Schvartz , Ulla Benz, Catalyst String Quartet, Marmen String Quartet, among others.

Additionally, Adriana took part in the 2018 Santa Catarina Music Festival (Brazil) in the String Quartet program, under the direction of the Arianna String Quartet (United States). She is currently in her final year of the Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts at Universidad Nacional de las Artes. She has worked as a violinist for the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and since March 2018, has been a permanent member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in the first violin section. Since 2017, Adriana has been a member of the Cuarteto Arkhé, performing in various venues in Buenos Aires, including Templo Libertad, Usina del Arte, and Salón de Honor (Centro Cultural Kirchner), among others. Internationally, she has performed at the Teatro del Sodre (Uruguay) and Teatro Pequenho (Santa Catarina).

Adriana Miranda Torrico is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Esteban began his music education at the Municipal School of Music of Olavarría and the Ernesto Mogávero Municipal Conservatory. At 18, he moved to Buenos Aires to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Composition at the Faculty of Arts and Musical Sciences at the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), where he was awarded a scholarship for academic excellence. Simultaneously, he studied composition under the guidance of Julio Viera and Julián Peralta, and viola with Elizabeth Ridolfi, Claudio Medina, Adrián Felizia, Javier Cárdenas, Rolando Prusak, and Rafael Gintoli. Additionally, he completed the Viola program at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2020, he obtained a yoga teaching certification.

As a violist, Esteban is currently a member of the Orquesta de Música Argentina Juan de Dios Filiberto and the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Olavarría, where he has also performed as a soloist. He is part of the string quartet Azabache Tango, where he contributes as a composer and producer. He has collaborated as a violist with prominent ensembles, including the Teatro Colón’s Orquesta Estable, the Teatro Colón Chamber Opera, Teatro Avenida Opera, and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Cuyo, among others. Esteban has participated in renowned festivals and workshops such as the Santa Catarina Music Festival (FEMUSC) and Música Maestra, taught by Diego Schissi. In the past year, he recorded Le Grand Tango and his own arrangement of Vuelvo al Sur, both composed by Astor Piazzolla.

Esteban Fioroni is generously supported by Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Bruno began his cello studies at the age of 15 with professors Gastón Colloca and Myriam Santucci. In 2007, he entered the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2011, he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Liège (Belgium) under the guidance of Professor Jean-Pol Zanutel, where he graduated in 2014. Bruno decided to further his education at the Brussels and Antwerp Conservatories and is currently studying privately with Professor Diego Fainguersch.

Since 2017, Bruno has regularly performed with the Sinfónica Nacional, the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires. He also collaborates with the Teatro Colón's Chamber Opera and the the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón. He is a founding member of the NEO Ensemble and the Hopper Ensemble (BE).

Since the end of 2016, Bruno has been teaching in the program of the Orquestas Escuelas of the City of Buenos Aires.

Bruno Bragato Diaz is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Eleanor Stalcup (they/he/she) is a Boston-based contemporary composer, sound designer, and audio engineer. They specialize in audio-visual and electro-acoustic composition and are excited to explore the natural soundscapes of Banff as a composer in residence. They attended the Atlantic Music Festival in 2023, where they premiered four original works. He is also an avid theater-maker and has worked on productions with the Stanford Shakespeare Company (Twelfth Night, Titus Andronicus… And Zombies!, Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Noble Kinsmen), the Stanford Asian American Theater Company (Mary Magdalene, Daughter, Boatperson), and Golden Thread Productions (Pilgrimage), primarily as a Sound Designer and Producer. They are currently producing an EP with the Stanford Shakespeare Company and will be completing an apprenticeship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in May 2025.

Eleanor graduated from Stanford University in 2024 with a B.A. in Music Composition and Political Science, where he studied composition with Giancarlo Aquilanti and Eric Ulman, and oboe with Robin May. They are currently studying Film Scoring Technology at Berklee College of Music. 

Eleanor Stalcup is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Project 23.6°N, named after the geographic coordinates of the country of Taiwan, consists of KaiChen Cheng (flute), Pin-hui Tsai (cello), and Calvin Hu (piano) who formed the group under their shared heritage and love of Taiwanese culture. As an ensemble, they not only strive to perform the music of Taiwanese composers from past to present, but also to serve as a cultural advocate of the diJerent traditions and stories from the island. From traditional Formosan melodies to contemporary sounds, Project 23.6°N aims to share the sounds of Taiwan with a global audience.

Project 23.6°N is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.