About IFCA

Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA) is a group of artists who have combined their experiences and creativity to create a platform for otherwise-unheard musical voices from inside Iran and the Iranian diaspora, and build and support a growing community of female and non-binary identifying composers. IFCA has curated and produced concerts at various significant venues including the Kennedy Center’s Direct Current Festival and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, and Ojai Festival.

Recent collaborations include Seattle Symphony at Octave9, Duke University, MATA Festival, Asia Society, and three-composer commission for CAMPGround26 in Tampa. IFCA’s 2026-2027 season features Peyvand 2026 in NYC, a co-commission with Ensemble Decipher, and two development workshops for Nava Avaz – a collective opera by five IFCA composers with librettist Sholeh Wolpé, supported by MAP Fund and Opera America. IFCA also sustains year-round artist development through its annual IFCA Award and public Forums series led by Dr. Yalda Yazdani and Dr. Sepehr Pirasteh.

Our Staff

Niloufar Nourbakhsh

Co-Artistic Director 

Aida Shirazi

Co-Artistic Director 

Homa Samiei

Director of Development

“IFCA for me is friendship. IFCA is a place that I belong to. IFCA is a place where we can all thrive as artists.”

“IFCA is the sisterhood I was always missing in my life; a space for connectedness, sharing, and openness. I feel fortunate to be part of our ever-growing sisterhood.”

Sepehr Pirasteh

IFCA Forum Co-Host

Sahar Helmi

Marketing and Communications Coordinator 

Yalda Yazdani

IFCA Forum Co-Host

“When I think about IFCA, two words come to my mind, ‘hope’ and ‘home’. For me, IFCA is like a home where dreams could come true”.

“IFCA is a place for inspiration, creativity, and growth. I feel empowered to be part of it and I aim to pass this feeling on to my fellow creative musicians.”