Intro
I am a PhD student in musicology at Washington University in St. Louis, working at the intersection of gender, history, and musical performance.
My research examines how musical practices both reflect and shape social structures, with particular attention to women’s artistic lives across cultural and historical contexts.
Grounded in archival research, ethnography, and performance-based inquiry, my work engages with questions of restriction, agency, memory, and migration in music-making.
Alongside my scholarly work, I am an active pianist and dedicated pedagogue.
My background in classical piano performance informs both my research perspective and my teaching philosophy, bridging analytical inquiry with embodied musical practice.
Across performance, research, and education, my work is driven by a commitment to understanding music as a lived, culturally embedded practice
that carries personal histories, social meanings, and transformative potential.
Work
The American Musicological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting - Minneapolis, Minnesota - November 2025
Research
My primary research focuses on Western classical music through historical and gender-critical perspectives, with my current doctoral work centered on the reception of Cécile Chaminade.
This project examines how social, economic, and gendered expectations shaped Chaminade’s career and the critical narratives surrounding her music in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe and North America.
Through archival research and reception history, I explore how women composers negotiated visibility, professionalism, and artistic legitimacy within male-dominated musical institutions.
Alongside this core project, my research extends to contemporary and intercultural musicking.
One major side project examines Iranian women’s musical lives under political suppression and after migration, focusing on how performance, memory, and nostalgia shape artistic identity in the diaspora.
An article based on this research, “From Silence to Sound: Iranian Women Musicking under Suppression and after Migration” (
accessible here
), appeared in the Fall/Winter 2025 issue of Rising Voices in Ethnomusicology (published by the Society for Ethnomusicology).
I am also engaged in research on the music of Tōru Takemitsu, with particular interest in how traditional Japanese aesthetics and cultural concepts inform his engagement with Western modernist compositional practices.
Performance
I am a classically trained pianist with extensive solo and chamber performance experience.
My performance background includes solo recitals, ensemble concerts, and collaborative work in academic and concert settings.
I have performed in university concert series, music festivals, and institutional events, with repertoire spanning the Western classical canon.
From 2018, I performed as the pianist of the Coda Piano Trio, with which I presented several chamber music performances at Roudaki Hall, Tehran, Iran.
Additionally, I have co-founded a piano trio based in St. Louis since 2025, with the goal of developing future community-oriented performances of classical repertoire.
This ongoing project reflects my commitment to chamber music as a form of artistic collaboration and public engagement.
Teaching
I bring over a decade of experience teaching piano performance, music theory, harmony, and solfège.
My teaching emphasizes strong technical foundations, historical awareness, and the development of independent musical thinking, tailored to each student’s needs and goals.
Since 2025, I have been teaching musicianship courses at Washington University in St. Louis.
In both classroom and private-instruction settings, my teaching integrates performance, theory, and listening, drawing on my dual training as a performer and musicologist.
About
I began studying piano at the age of thirteen, an experience that shaped both my artistic path and my long-term engagement with music.
Early training in classical piano performance laid the foundation for a sustained commitment to careful listening, disciplined practice, and musical interpretation.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Tehran University of Art and my master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Tehran.
During my master’s studies, my interests expanded through my thesis research, which focused on theme-and-variation form in eighteenth-century sonatas, with particular attention to works by Mozart and Beethoven.
This project was where my work as a performer naturally led me into musicological research, as analytical and historical questions emerged directly from my experience at the piano.
This trajectory ultimately led me to pursue doctoral studies in musicology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Outside of music, I enjoy practices that help me stay physically and mentally grounded, including yoga, jogging in nature, and listening to natural soundscapes.
I also enjoy cooking, which I find calming, and exploring international cuisines through new restaurants and food traditions.
Contact