Afarin Mansouri

Afarin Mansouri is an award-winning composer whose works have been performed in Canada, the United States, England, Iran, and South America. She received Music Creation Grants from the Toronto Arts Council for her children’s operetta To whom shall I give my heart?, based on a Persian story by Nader Ebrahimi in 2014, and her multidisciplinary work Doors, in 2015. Afarin has also appeared as solo soprano, singing new music in Farsi language at Toronto Culture Days 2014, Tirgan Festival 2015 and ICOT’s The Thirtieth Act in 2016.

Currently Afarin is a PhD candidate at York University finishing her research on children’s opera while teaching undergrad courses in music. She has presented her research at the Institute of Musical Research, London, UK (2013), and the 25th annual conference Mid-Atlantic Popular and American Culture Association, Baltimore (2014).

Afarin is very active in her community as musician and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Iranian-Canadian Composers of Toronto (ICOT), and has curated many seasonal concerts with them since 2011. She is also founder and director of MUSIC NEST, an organization dedicated to educating and inspiring families through musical programs. She is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and board member of North York Arts.