Dr. Yalda Yazdani
Postdoctoral Researcher, Transcultural Musicology Department of Musicology, Humboldt University of Berlin
Office: KG 5, Room 319
Office Hours: Please confirm an appointment in advance by e-mail
E-Mail: yalda.yazdani[at]hu-berlin.de
Photo by Rene loeffler
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Yalda Yazdani is an ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, and curator born in Iran and currently based in Berlin. Her work sits at the intersection of music, gender studies, and cultural advocacy, with a particular focus on the musical lives of women in the Middle East. She began her musical journey playing the Tar and has built an internationally recognized career dedicated to amplifying the voices of Middle Eastern female musicians.
In 2025, she completed her PhD in Musicology at the University of Siegen with a dissertation on women's music in post-revolutionary Iran, and is currently working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Transcultural Musicology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. From 2021 onwards, she has been teaching at universities in Germany and has given guest lectures, master classes, workshops, and conference presentations at institutions and festivals internationally.
Her engagement with field research on female vocal music across Iran stretches back to 2009. As a curator and artistic director, she has worked on a wide range of transcultural projects — spanning concerts, workshops, documentary productions, and exhibitions — building creative bridges between artists from the Middle East and Europe. These include Female Voice of Iran (2017 & 2018), Female Art of Crossing Cultures (2019–2022), Female Voice of Afghanistan (2021), Iranian Womxn in Music (2021), Female Voice of Kurdistan (2023), Qashqai Female Voices (2024), Ukrainian Female Voices (2024), Female Voices United (2025), and Female Voices of Resilience — Iranian Women Singing for Freedom, to be presented at the Cologne Philharmonie in 2026. Her primary mission remains constant: to strengthen the visibility and sustainability of Middle Eastern female musicians, both in their home countries and on the international stage.
Website: www.yaldayazdani.net
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Music and Gender Studies
- Women's Music, Society, and Cultural Politics
- Middle Eastern Culture and History
- Politics of Music Performance in Iran
- Regional Music in Iran, Afghanistan, and Kurdistan
- Qashqai and Other Nomadic Music and Culture in Iran
- Transcultural Musicology and Diaspora Music
- Ethnomusicology and Ethnographic Field Research
- Music, Activism, and Social Change
- Documentary Filmmaking and Musical Representation
- Music and Migration
EDUCATION
University of Siegen, Faculty II – Department of Art and Music
PhD — Successfully passed doctoral examination (magna cum laude)
"The Politics of Musical Participation: An Ethnographic Research on the Situation of the Female Singers in Post-Revolutionary Iran"
October 2020 – March 2025
Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul
M.A. Ethnomusicology
Field study focusing on traditional songs of nomadic women in Qashqai tribe in south-west Iran
September 2011 – September 2015
Tehran Azad University, Tehran
B.A. Persian Music Performance
September 2007 – May 2010
SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS
DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Award
Siegen University
December 2021
House of Young Talents Academy — Doctoral Scholarship
University of Siegen 2020
TEACHING
Humboldt University of Berlin
Summer Semester 2026: Music and Migration (BA Seminar)
Summer Semester 2026: Women, Music and Society in the Middle East (MA Seminar)
Institut für Musikforschung, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Summer Semester 2026: Women, Music, and Society in West Asia and North Africa
University of Siegen
Summer Semester 2026: Music and Migration
Winter Semester 2025/26: Women, Music, and Society in West Asia and North Africa
Winter Semester 2025/26: Music and Migration
Winter Semester 2024/25: Music and Migration
Summer Semester 2024: Diaspora Music in Germany
Summer Semester & Winter Semester 2023/24: Women and Popular Music in Iran
Summer Semester & Winter Semester 2023/24: Diaspora Music in Germany
Summer Semester & Winter Semester 2022/23: Music and Religions
Summer Semester & Winter Semester 2021/22: Music and Migration
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Winter Semester 2025/26: Women, Music, and Society in West Asia and North Africa
Guest Lectures and Master Classes
Winter Semester 2025/26 — Humboldt University of Berlin
Seminar: "Echoes Across Borders: Navigating the Musical Tapestry of Berlin's Migrations: Transcultural Soundscapes in Iran"
September 2025 — Kyoto University, Japan
"The Situation of Female Singers in Post-revolutionary Iran"
July 2024 — Central European University, Budapest
Master Class: "Female Singers in Iran and Afghanistan"
July 2024 and July 2025 — Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Seminar: "Music and Gender"
May 2024 — Center for World Music, University of Hildesheim
"Iranian Musicians: History and Biographies"
April 2023 and April 2024 — Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg, Villingen-Schwenningen
"Gender and Discrimination for Female & Queer Musicians in Iran"
May 2023 — Center for World Music, University of Hildesheim
"Iranian Musicians: History and Biographies"
February 2023 — Music Department, University of Accra, Ghana
"The Politics of Musical Participation in Iran"
October 2022 — Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar
"Introduction to Iranian Music"
November 2018 — Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
"Music and Diversity"
PROJECTS
The Mulberry Tree – Feminist Voices on War and Gardens
Sound Design / Music Curator
Humboldt Forum – Berlin Global | Exhibition project by Flamingo NGO
November 2025 – August 2027
Feminist Perspectives on Digitalization and Popular Music
Research Fellow
University of Siegen, Faculty II – Department of Art and Music
January 2021 – March 2025
Female Voices United
Artistic Director
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra
March 2025
Ukrainian Female Voices
Artistic Director
Volksbühne, Berlin
December 2024
Qashqai Female Voices
Curator (Exhibition and Events)
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne
March – June 2024
Annual Conference of the German Society for Popular Music Studies 2023
Co-Organiser: "Rock Your Body: Bodies in Interaction with Popular Music"
University of Siegen
September 2023
Inner Unity Ensemble in collaboration with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Founder and Artistic Director
Since February 2023
Female Voice of Kurdistan
Artistic Director (Music Festival)
Contemporary Opera, Berlin
March – June 2023
Female Voice of Afghanistan
Artistic Director (Music Festival)
Contemporary Opera, Berlin
July – October 2021
Female Voice of Iran
Co-Director (Feature Documentary)
Contemporary Opera, Berlin
November 2020
Algorhythms of Cultures
Curator and Filmmaker (Music Documentary)
Hermap Art Projects / Residency Program / Goethe Institut
April 2020
Ornament Project, Berlin
Curator (Music Theater)
FrauVonDa / Villa Elisabeth, Berlin
August – November 2019
Female Art of Crossing Cultures, Berlin
Curator (Concert Series)
Since March 2019
Female Voice of Iran
Curator (Music Festivals)
Contemporary Opera, Berlin
March 2017 and November 2018
SAZ. The Key of Trust
Assistant Director (Music Documentary)
ARTE, Strasbourg and Anthro-Media, Berlin
2018
Music Project with Refugees
Melanchthon Akademie, Cologne
2016
PUBLICATIONS
Book (in publication process, based on doctoral thesis)
Yazdani, Yalda: The Politics of Musical Participation: An Ethnographic Research on the Situation of Female Singers in Post-Revolutionary Iran. BRILL/Böhlau Verlag, Vienna. (in publication process)
Editorship
Jung, Lea / Nink, Theresa / Suer, Daniel / Yazdani, Yalda / Heesch, Florian (Eds.): Special Issue "Rock Your Body – Bodies in Interaction with Popular Music". In: Samples – Volume 22 (2024), German Society for Popular Music Studies. Updated version from 16 May 2025.
Articles and Book Contributions
Mastnak, Wolfgang / Yazdani, Yalda (2021): "Female Voices of Iran: Perspectives for Culturally Exploratory Music Education". ResearchGate, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.14227.60969.
Yazdani, Yalda (2016): "Female Voice of Iran". In: Magazin der Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Germany.
Yazdani, Yalda (2013): "Women's Vocal Songs and Music from the Shiraz Region in Iran". In: Ethnomusicology Journal, Istanbul Technical University.
Yazdani, Yalda (2010): "Women's Vocal Songs and Music from the Shiraz Region in Iran". In: Mahoor Magazine, Tehran.
LECTURES & PANELS
British Forum for Ethnomusicology Conference, King's College London, UK
Presentation: Sustainable Feminist Futures: Decolonizing Vocal Practices Among Recently Displaced Iranian and Afghan Female Singers in Exile
April 2026
Nowruz Festival, Duisburg Philharmonie
Tar Performance:
March 2026
Nowruz Ceremony, Hejmo Berlin
Tar Performance:
March 2026
Transcultural Soundscapes in Iran — Humboldt University of Berlin
Presentation: The Situation of Female Singers in Iran
January 2026
PANDAwomen Festival – Iran, Berlin
Curator:
December 2025
University of Kyoto, Japan
Presentation: The Situation of Female Singers in Post-revolutionary Iran
September 2025
MultiCultural Families Organization, Gold Coast, Australia
Lecture: Music Between Creativity and Censorships
August 2025
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Panel Talk: The Situation of Female Singers in Iran
August 2025
Nawa Festival, Vienna, Austria
Panel Talk: Resistance at the Crossroad of Arts, Activism, Academia
June 2025
British Forum for Ethnomusicology Conference, University of Cambridge
Panel: Sounding Otherwise: Uncovering the Silenced Past in Iran's Auditory History
April 2025
Budapest Ritmo, House of Music, Budapest
Moderator: Fieldwork First-hand: Capturing Tradition and Inspiring Innovation
April 2025
Sahba Festival, London and Manchester
Lecture: Tales of Zagros Mountains
January 2025
Central European University, Budapest
Lecture: Female Singers in Post-Revolutionary Iran
July 2024
Katholische Universität, Eichstätt
Lecture: The Politics of Musical Performance in Post-Revolutionary Iran
July 2024
Sheeciety Club Women Empowerment, Berlin
Concert (Tar):
June 2024
Sounds of Zagrosian & Cologne Film Festival, Cologne
Panel: Female Filmmakers in Iran
June 2024
Center for World Music, Hildesheim
Presentation, Concert (Tar) and Workshop:
May 2024
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne
Panel with Maryam Akhondy: Women's Music in Iran
March 2023
Imago DEI Festival, Klangraum Krems
Presentation: Women's Music in Iran, Afghanistan and Kurdistan
March 2023
Moods, Nowruz Festival / Jazzhane, Zurich
Presentation: Music of Resilience: Women's Singing in Iran, Afghanistan and Kurdistan
March 2023
Jazzwerkstatt, Bern
Panel: Discussion on Democracy in Art & Music
March 2023
Spore Initiative, Berlin
Concert (Tar): Voices of Women from Kurdistan, Armenia, Iran & Afghanistan
March 2023
Fasching, Women's International Jazz Festival, Stockholm
Keynote: Women Singers in Post-revolutionary Iran
March 2023
Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne
Panel with Sima Bina: Qashqai Female Voices and Lullabies
March 2023
Post in Progress, 7th International Post-graduate Forum in Studies in Music and Dance, Lisbon
Keynote: Women Singers in Post-revolutionary Iran
December 2023
World Music Expo, WOMEX 2023, La Coruña
Presentation: Voices Unveiled: Female Singers in Post-revolutionary Iran
October 2023
Martin-Luther-University, Halle-Wittenberg — International Conference "Music of Persian Speaking Countries and Regions: Similarities, Differences, and Musical Identities"
Presentation: The Situation of Female Singers in Iran
October 2023
Reeperbahn Festival, BDKV & Germandream.de, Schmid Theater Hamburg
Panel: Live for All: Is the Cultural Industry Out of Touch with Society?
September 2023
Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg
Panel: Fear of the Female Voice
September 2023
Vision Talk, Ethnokino Festival, Bern
Presentation: The Female Voice of Afghanistan
September 2023
Queen's University, Belfast — Conference: "Politics in Music and Songs"
Presentation: Politics of Musical Participation in Iran
September 2023
47th World Conference of the International Council for Traditional Music, Accra, Ghana
Presentation: The Female Voice of Afghanistan: An Ethnographic Research by Focusing on Musical Activities of Women Singers in Afghanistan
July 2023
Music4change "Sustainability in Music Research and Education", University of Bergen
Keynote Speaker: Exploring Gender, Critical Race and Intersectional Perspectives
June 2023
University of Helsinki — Music, Research and Activism Conference
Presentation: Politics of Musical Performance
May 2023
Ritmo Festival, Budapest
Panel: Music through Conflicts and Social Challenges
April 2023
Festival Houbara – Resonanzen Iran, Stadtgarten, Cologne
Presentation: Female Singers in Post-Revolutionary Iran
March 2023
Music Department, Accra University, Ghana
Presentation: The Politics of Musical Participation in Iran
February 2023
FilmForum Duisburg / Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Panel: The Female Voice of Iran (Documentary Film)
February 2023
Go for Gender Justice meets Via Reformata, Melanchthon-Akademie, Cologne
Presentation: Female Voice of Iran
January 2023
Insert Female Artist, Burg Hülshoff
Presentation: "I Want My Voice to be Heard – Female Singers of Iran"
December 2022
Voices of Women Conference, University of Groningen
Presentation / Screening: "Politics of Musical Performance in Iran"
December 2022
Hamburg University of Music and Drama
Panel: The Situation of Women Singers in Iran
November 2022
Afghan Music in Exile, STADTRAUM, Frankfurt
Presentation / Screening: "Female Voice of Afghanistan"
November 2022
De Koer, Ghent
Presentation / Screening: "Female Voice of Iran"
November 2022
15 Minutes of Femme, Berlin
Panel: "Female Musicians in Iran and Afghanistan"
October 2022
46th World Conference of the International Council for Traditional Music, Lisbon
Presentation: "Women's Music in Marginalized Communities: An Ethnographic Study on the Role of Music in the Daily Life of Qashqai Female Singers"
July 2022
Womex (Worldwide Music Expo), Porto
Panel: "Artists As Terrorists?"
October 2021
XXXVI ESEM, Valladolid
Presentation: "The Politics of Musical Participation: An Ethnographic Study of Women Singers in Post-Revolutionary Iran"
September 2021
Joint Symposium of the ICTM National Committees of the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany
Presentation / Screening: "Phenotypes and Variations of Female Voices in Iran: An Ethnographic Research on the Relationships Between Music, Language and Cultural Tradition in Qashqai Tribe"
February 2020
Jazzwerkstatt Music Festival, Bern
Presentation / Screening: "Women's Music in Iran"
March 2020
Asia Pacific Congress of Music Therapy 2019, Beijing Normal University
Presentation: "Music Therapy and Traditional Healing Rituals in Iran: Ethnographic Research by Focusing on the Zaar, Govati and Porkhani Ceremonies"
September 2019
Rudolstadt-Festival
Presentation: "Women's Music and Women Musicians in Post-Revolutionary Iran"
July 2019
Ornament Project, Berlin
Presentation / Screening: "Ornament in Iranian Traditional Music: An Ethnographic Research on Women Songs"
November 2019
University of Music and Theatre Munich
Presentation / Workshop: "About the Role of Female Singers in Iran after the Revolution"
November 2018
University of Cologne, Institute of Musicology
Lecture: "Iranian Women Musicians in Transcultural Dialogue"
February 2017