Shaghayegh Bagheri

Shaghayegh Bagheri is a distinguished Iranian soprano, composer, and educator whose work bridges the worlds of Persian traditional music, contemporary composition, and experimental vocal performance. Her artistry is defined by a rare ability to fuse technical precision with emotional honesty—transforming each performance into an intimate act of storytelling.

Trained in both Persian vocal traditions and Western contemporary practice, Bagheri studied voice, composition, and performance in Iran before continuing her artistic journey internationally. Her voice, characterized by timbral nuance, expressive depth, and sensitivity to the microtonal contours of Persian music, has been heard on concert stages and in interdisciplinary projects across Iran, Europe, and North America.

Bagheri’s work explores the evolving identity of the voice—its connection to language, memory, and emotion—through performances that span classical Persian repertoire, new vocal works, and experimental collaborations. She has appeared in a range of projects and festivals including the Canadian Opera Company’s Bradshaw Space (2025), Opera From Scratch in Halifax, and the Contemporary Music Magazine Festival at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran. Her international performances have brought her to Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico, and the United States, where she continues to collaborate with composers and performers who share her passion for exploration and cross-cultural dialogue.

Bagheri is featured on numerous releases that reflect her wide-ranging curiosity. Her recent projects include Tak Derakht (2024), Bi Doost (2023), and Darvag (2023), as well as the forthcoming Iranian Old Songs (2025). Most notably, she is the featured vocalist on Timeless Melodies of Iran, released by CambiataArts Records, where she performs alongside pianist Aline Tashchian in music by Saeed Lahouti. In this collection, Bagheri’s interpretations of “Tak Derakht,” “Ashegham Man,” and “Mashin-e Mashti Mamdali” reveal her gift for reimagining traditional material with subtlety and emotional insight—offering renewed perspectives on the expressive potential of Persian song.

Equally committed to teaching and artistic leadership, Bagheri is the founder and artistic director of Toronto Singing House, where she guides singers through holistic approaches to technique, stage presence, and artistic development. She also founded Chant School in Tehran, and regularly gives workshops on extended vocal techniques, Italian diction for singers, and interpretive performance practices. Her pedagogical approach emphasizes the singer’s body and voice as instruments of empathy and self-discovery—a philosophy she describes as “holding singers like an instrument.”

Throughout her career, Bagheri has worked with ensembles such as the Najva Ensemble, the Yarava Music Group, and the House of Music (Association for Iranian Musicians), and has participated in numerous premieres and new music collaborations. Her performances in operatic and staged works include Ann or Anna (Christopher Palmer, 2025), Siavash (Homa Samiei, 2016), and Roudabeh (Kia Khosravi, 2014)—each reflecting her interest in the dramatic and narrative power of the human voice.

Bagheri is also active as a writer and poet. Her book 8th Secret was published by Rounak Press in Amsterdam (2018), revealing the same sensitivity to rhythm and resonance that characterizes her musical work.

Her contributions to Iranian and contemporary music have been recognized internationally, including receiving the IFCA Singer-Composer Award (2025). Through her performances, recordings, and educational projects, Shaghayegh Bagheri continues to shape a vibrant and exploratory voice within Iranian music today—one that bridges geography and genre, tradition and innovation, the intimate and the universal.