CV

Shooka is a Harvard Music Award–winning soprano, composer, flutist, pianist and vocal coach. A City of Boston Certified Artist, she merges classical training with Iranian musical traditions, creating vivid interdisciplinary works that explore identity, migration and resilience. She earned her master’s degree in Classical Vocal Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2014 and pursued specialized training in voice therapy at Boston Medical Center.

She made her U.S. operatic debut as the Princess in the U.S. premiere of Dvořák’s The Cunning Peasant in 2014. She performed at the Farhang Foundation’s Nowruz Festival in 2021 and returned in 2025 for its virtual celebration, presenting her own compositions. Her mixed‑media opera Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight premiered online in 2021 and was performed in person at the Museum of Fine Arts in 2023.

Her creative range extends beyond opera. She composed the film score for Without Fear, a short independent film by a Los Angeles producer that confronts violence against women. In 2022 she composed The Manipulation Project, a mixed‑media operatic performance that blends avant‑garde modern sound art with both operatic and non‑operatic singing. Working in collaboration with Los Angeles’ VC Projects, she led an artist residency near Milan, assembled a multidisciplinary team, and toured northern Italy before premiering the piece at Casa Regis. These collaborations marked the beginning of an ongoing relationship with Italy, and she continues to return there to perform and collaborate.

Shooka also champions Iranian folk music. In 2017 she founded the Sarazamin Ensemble to bridge Persian folk traditions with contemporary and classical influences. Her artistic work has been presented internationally through concerts, mixed‑media productions, artist residencies and interdisciplinary collaborations. Through her performances, compositions and teaching, she advocates for artistic innovation, cultural dialogue and the empowering role of music and performance art

An avid composer and sound artist, Shooka delights in transforming human emotions into beautiful, avant‑garde sound art. Her compositions channel themes of social and women’s rights, weaving personal vulnerability and collective resilience into richly textured works. Her mission is to keep expanding her artistic canvas, creating ever larger and more profound projects. A forthcoming production, The Internal Family, is a large‑scale mixed‑media theatrical work that uses modern dance, music, theatre, acting and visual storytelling to explore the internal psychological parts of the self and the struggle to overcome destructive patterns.