Biography

 

Golnar Shahyar is an Iranian-Canadian vocalist, composer, poet, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in Vienna. Her work weaves together improvisation, storytelling, and interdisciplinary practices, treating the voice as both instrument and narrator. She composes for small and large ensembles—including the Vision String Quartet, NAWA Orchestra and the Beyond the Roots Large Ensemble—and performs as a soloist and composer with orchestras such as the Tonkünstler-Orchester and the NDR Bigband. Her debut album Tear Drop (2022) was nominated for the German Jazz Prize in 2023 for its “outstanding vocal qualities” and production, and she received second prize at the Austrian Jazz Prize 2025 in the Best Live Act category.

 

“What one rapturously calls a ‘transcendent moment’ … the thing that this voice can do to you.” (Popfest Wien)

 

Shahyar arrived in Vienna in 2008 to study voice and guitar at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), at a moment of generational transformation that challenged established boundaries—between “serious” and “popular,” Europe and elsewhere. Whether performing with Choub, Gabbeh, the Golnar & Mahan Trio, or under her solo project GolNar, she moves fluidly across genres, drawing from West Asian and North African traditions alongside contemporary European and American influences. Her poetry—works such as Love Is and This Is Not My Voice—often forms the foundation of her music, where text becomes sound, sound unfolds into improvisation, and voice, language, and movement converge to evoke empathy, vulnerability, strength, and dignity.

 

“An artist, improviser, and storyteller whose mesmerizing voice connects all these dots.” (ZH Magazine)

 

Her artistic approach is informed by vocal traditions spanning jazz, folklore, and experimental music—from Betty Carter and Oumou Sangaré to Hayedeh, Googoosh, Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri, Umm Kulthum, Maria Callas, and Fatima Miranda. She approaches the voice as both a personal instrument and a narrative medium, bridging memory, emotion, imagination, and collective experience.

Alongside her artistic work, Shahyar is an educator and mentor, working with emerging artists and teaching at institutions including the mdw, the University Mozarteum Salzburg (Thomas Bernhard Institut), and the Sibelius Academy. She contributes to international platforms such as the European Forum on Music (Equity in Music, 2024) and the European Forum Alpbach, and has developed workshops and seminar formats for institutions including the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Wiener Festwochen, Akademie Zweite Moderne, and the Musikverein. Her work in these contexts focuses on creating spaces for critical dialogue, inclusive practices, and sustainable artistic development.

Shahyar is the founder and artistic director of WE:Shape, an interdisciplinary lab dedicated to trauma-aware and inclusive artistic practices, and has been part of the artistic team of Kultursommer Wien (2020 & 2021). Her work reflects a holistic approach to art-making—bringing together musical excellence, poetic expression, and a deep commitment to shared, meaningful artistic experiences.

 

“Golnar is a millennium voice … every single note she sings contains incredible magic.” (Mira Lu Kovacs)

 

 

Credits (selected)

 

Soloist/ensembles & conductors: Wiener Musikverein — Golden Hall (soloist), Keith Lockhart — Boston Pops Orchestra (soloist), World of Hans Zimmer (soloist), ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien (soloist), Tonkünstler-Orchester (soloist), NDR Bigband (soloist), Trickster Orchestra (soloist), Marmoucha Orchestra (soloist), Vision String Quartet.
Collaborations: Gabriel Yared, Wayne Marshall, Erkan Oğur, Alain Pérez, Mathias Rüegg, Wolfgang Puschnig, Alegre Corrêa, Mahan Mirarab, Naïssam Jalal, Yazz Ahmed, Pedro Eustache, Juan García-Herreros, Rusanda Panfili, Marie Spaemann, Mario Rom, Vinicius Ciccone Cajado, András Dés, Pavel Urkiza, Cymin Samawatian, Martin Stegner, Natascha Mirković, Christof Dienz, Basma Jabr, Orwa Saleh, Eliane Correa, Lana Čenčić, Hadar Noiberg, Haggai Cohen-Milo, Luis Verra, Alex Simu, Manu Mayr, Mona Matbou Riahi, Sakina Teyna, Krzysztof Dobrek, Ariel Ramírez Barrera, Efe Türümtey, Rina Kaçinari, Oskar Antolí, etc.

 

 

Festival & venue highlights (selected)

 

Pierre Boulez Saal; Wiener Musikverein (Golden Hall); Berliner Philharmonie; Elbphilharmonie (Großer Saal); Philharmonie de Paris; Royal Festival Hall — Southbank Centre (London); Deutsche Oper Berlin; Konzerthaus Wien; Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris); King’s Place (London); Burgtheater Wien; Wiener Festwochen (including Opening Concert); Wien Modern; JazzFest Wien; Jazz & The City Salzburg; Jazzfestival Saalfelden; Morgenland Festival; Carinthischer Sommer; Rudolstadt Festival; Südtirol Jazzfestival; Novi Sad Jazz Festival; Tonlagen II; Felix Festival der Kölner Philharmonie; Művészetek Völgye; Female Voice of Iran Festival; Hollywood in Vienna; World of Hans Zimmer (France & Saudi Arabia tour, soloist); Volkstheater Wien; Gorki Theater Berlin; Porgy & Bess; Sunset-Sunside (Paris); A-Trane (Berlin).

 

Selected Awards, Grants & Showcases

 

Interdisciplinary Work

 

As a performer and composer, Golnar Shahyar has collaborated across dance, theater, opera, and performance with institutions and collectives such as Deutsche Oper Berlin, Volkstheater Wien, Theaterkollektiv Hybrid, Wiener Konzerthaus (Jeunesse), Philharmonie Luxembourg, and Nïm company, to name a few.

 

2026 — The Muse At Work

A production by Nïm Company

Composer · Singer · Performer

2025 — RomaBaroni (Opera)

A production by Theaterkollektiv Hybrid in cooperation with Johann Strauss 2025 Wien and Tanzquartier Wien

Singer · Actress

2024 — Songs of Radical Kindness

A music theater production by Golnar Shahyar in cooperation with Outernational, Stadt Wien, and Radialsystem Berlin

Composer · Script Writer · Performer

2023–2024 — Wohin (Music Theater)

In cooperation with Musikverein Wien and Philharmonie Luxembourg

Co-Composer · Script Co-Writer · Performer

2022 — Negar (Opera)

A production by Deutsche Oper Berlin in cooperation with Opera Montpellier

Vocalist (Lead Character) · Performer

2020 — Ein Staatenloser – Einblicke in die Festung Europa (Theater Production)

A production by Theaterkollektiv Hybrid in cooperation with WERK X – Petersplatz

Composer · Vocalist · Performer

2020 — Ganymed in Power (Performance Production)

A production by Wenn es soweit ist productions in cooperation with Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Singer · Performer · Composer

2019 — Rojava (Theater Production)

A theater production by Volkstheater Wien

Composer · Actor · Musician

2019 — Ganymed in Love (Performance Production)

A production by Wenn es soweit ist productions in cooperation with Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Singer · Performer · Composer

2017 — Fremdkörper (Dance Production)

A production by Tanzlabor Labyrinth

Composer · Performer · Singer · Guitarist

2017 — Triolino (Children’s Musical)

A production by Jeunesse in cooperation with Wiener Konzerthaus

Singer · Composer · Actor

2014 — Seven Cities of Love (Dance Production)

A production by Tanzlabor Labyrinth

Singer

2013 — Falling Up (Dance Production)

A production by Tanzlabor Labyrinth

Singer

2010 — Call for Freedom (Dance Production)

A production by Tanzlabor Labyrinth

Singer

 

 

University Teaching & Guest Lectures:

 

2024–2025 — Guest Lecturer, Thomas Bernhard Institut / Universität Mozarteum Salzburg

2025 — Guest Lecturer, Sibelius Academy

2023 — Guest Lecturer, Music & Human Rights Seminar — Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights, Vienna

2021–2024 — Lecturer, Voice, Body, Identity — Department of Ethnomusicology, mdw Vienna

 

 

Workshops & Artistic Training

 

 

2026 — Stimmatelier RMPF (South Tyrol, Italy)

A workshop in cooperation with RMPF Voice Studio

Workshop Director

2025–Current — Schalom und Salam – Szenen des Friedens (Association for Educational and Cultural Peace Work)

Workshop Co-Leader · Concept Co-Writer

2025 — Wellenklänge Composer Performer Music Lab
Workshop on Singing, Songwriting & Ensemble

Workshop Director

2023 — Morgenland Akademie

Workshop Director

2023 — Glatt & Verkehrt Musikwerkstatt

Workshop Director

2022 — Morgenland Akademie

Workshop Director

2020 — Musikwerkstatt Workshop (Krems, Austria)

In cooperation with Glatt & Verkehrt Festival

Workshop Director

2020 — Winterferien-Musiklabor (Berlin, Germany)

In cooperation with Deutsche Oper Berlin

Workshop Director

2019 — Common Sound Festival (Berlin, Germany)

A production by Deutsche Oper Berlin

Workshop Director · Singer

2018 — Female Voice of Iran Festival (Berlin, Germany)

A production by Zeitgenössische Oper Berlin

Coach · Musical Director

2017 — Stimme, Sound & Vielfältigkeit (Linz, Austria)

In cooperation with Carneval of Fear

Workshop Director

2016 — Voice Workshop (Tehran, Iran)
In cooperation with Hatra Music School

Workshop Director

 

 

Artistic Leadership, Curatorial & Advocacy:

 

 

Golnar Shahyar conceptualizes and leads seminars, workshops, performances, and public discussions for institutions including the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Arts and Human Rights MA), Wiener Festwochen / Akademie Zweite Moderne, Brunnenpassage, European Forum Alpbach, and the Musikverein Wien in collaboration with D-Arts Wien. Her work focuses on developing artistic, educational, and dialogic formats that foster critical reflection on systemic challenges, cultural equity, migration, and the lived experiences of artists within contemporary political contexts.

She is the Founder and Artistic Director of WE:Shape, an interdisciplinary lab dedicated to sustainable, trauma-aware, and inclusive artistic and educational practices. Operating at the intersection of human rights and peace work, performing arts, music, politics, and history, WE:Shape develops frameworks, research, and educational formats that support safer, more dignified, and human-centered artistic environments.

 

2025–Current — Schalom und Salam – Szenen des Friedens (Association for Educational and Cultural Peace Work)

Workshop Co-Leader · Concept Co-Writer

2026 — P—I—C #1: Present — Internal — Collective Concept 

Co-developer · Moderator

2025 — Art & Security – Rethinking Protection, Power & Expression (European Forum Alpbach)

Co-Director · Co-Creator

2024 — MA Applied Human Rights Graduation

Keynote Speaker

2024 — …detect the unknown vol. 2 – Give Space to Art Diversity

Performer · Podium Guest

2024 — Strategien der Sichtbarkeit (Akademie Zweite Moderne × D-Arts Wien)

Moderator

2024 — European Forum on Music — Equity in Music

Keynote Speaker

2023 — Klangspuren Festival Opening Ceremony

Keynote Speaker

2021 — Dissonant Counterpoint (Musikverein Wien × D-Arts)

Co-Curator · Podium Guest

2021–2022 — Wiener Stimmen (Brunnenpassage × Musikverein Wien)

Concept Developer · Performer

2020–2021 — Kultursommer Wien

Artistic Board Member

2020 — Don’t You World Me! (Klangmanifeste)

Podium Guest · Performer

2020 — Concepts of Transtraditional Musical Practice (Netzwerk Junge Ohren)

Podium Guest

2019 — Würde – Freiheit – Gerechtigkeit (mdw Vienna)

Podium Guest · Performer

2019 — Gate of Tehran Festival

Podium Guest · Performer