About ICOT

ICOT is a non-profit art organisation founded by five Toronto-based composers and musicians in 2011 with the mission of creating new works that bridge Canadian and Iranian culture through music and art. ICOT has produced over 60 new works since its inception, and has curated or has been involved as featured artists over 35 concerts.

ICOT's current members are Maziar Heidari (Music Director), Keyan Emami (Artistic Director), and Saman Shahi (Executive Director). The two former members and co-founders were Afarin Mansouri and Pouya Hamidi.

ICOT's catalogue of productions include 2 operas (Operatic Narrations of Arash the Archer, The Journey: Notes of Hope), 2 ballets (5 Tableaux from Khosrow and Shirin, Trio in Chaargah), 12 orchestral works (Secret of Solstice, Recall The Eden), dozens of chamber works and vocal works, as well as three call for scores that allowed ICOT to collaborate with over 20 composers from 8 different countries.

ICOT has received commissions from the National Ballet of Canada, Soundstreams, Tirgan Festival, Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Toronto, 13 Strings, and has been featured in Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Symphony's 150th Open Hourse, Hamilton Philharmonic's What next Music Festival, Nuit Blanche Festival, Canadian Music Centre's 2017 Season as well as LADOM Ensemble's 2017 Debut Atlantic's Eastern Canada tour. In addition to the aforementioned groups ICOT's music has been performed by Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, Symphony on the Bay and Ton Beau String Quartet.

ICOT's subsidiary ensemble, ICOT orchestra has also been featured in the Arash the Archer production, Secret of Solstice as well as the Journey: Notes of Hope Production.

ICOT's first commercial recording "Persian Piano Night" was released in 2018 by Pardis Records, and is available worldwide both digital and physical form. ICOT Chamber Orchestra also released its first commercial recording, "Recurrence" in 2023 featuring 5 new compositions alongside some of Canada's most high-profile performers with Canadian label Leaf Music.

ICOT has received several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council for its various productions, projects and performances.

Members

Maziar Heidari, Music Director

Saman Shahi, Executive Director

Maziar Heidari, Music Director

Iranian-Canadian conductor, composer, and pianist Maziar Heidari has significantly impacted Canada's community music scene. A Master of Composition graduate from the Art University of Tehran, Maziar has served as composer, conductor, and pianist with the Iran National Music Orchestra. Relocating to Toronto in 2010, he earned a MMus in Conducting from the University of Toronto and has held prominent conducting positions with Orchestra Toronto, Hart House Orchestra, and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Maziar's accolades include the Tirgan Festival trophy, an RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant award, and the Canada 150 Medal. As co-founder of the Iranian-Canadian Composers of Toronto (ICOT) and Music Director, his leadership earned him a position as a judge for the JUNO Awards. Heidari Music, founded in 2014, is Maziar's Toronto-based music school. As an active freelance educator, Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, and member of ORMTA and CFMTA, Maziar is deeply involved in music education. With numerous published compositions and performances in ensembles worldwide, Maziar serves as an associate composer with the Canadian Music Centre, a professional member of SOCAN, and a board member of Orchestra Toronto. www.heidarimusic.com

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Keyan Emami, Artistic Director

Saman Shahi, Executive Director

Maziar Heidari, Music Director

Keyan Emami is a JUNO-nominated composer acclaimed for his contemporary classical music, which blends Persian culture with innovative sonic textures. Known for his integration of repetition, improvisation, and quotation, his works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded worldwide by numerous organizations, festivals, and orchestras. As the founder and director of Key Music, Keyan has been awarded multiple grants, including from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council. In 2020, he completed his doctorate in music composition at the University of Toronto, where he studied under Christos Hatzis, Alexander Rapoport, and Norbert Palej. Keyan is also the artistic director, co-founder, and one of the composers of ICOT. In addition, he is an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers and SOCAN.

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Saman Shahi, Executive Director

Saman Shahi is JUNO-nominated composer, pianist, conductor and educator based in Toronto. His compositions have been performed, and broadcast around the world and include orchestral works, operas, ballets, and many works for choral, vocal and chamber ensembles. Saman holds a master's degree in composition from the University of Toronto, is an affiliate Member of the Canadian League of Composers, Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre as well as a SOCAN member. He is a Co-Founder and the Executive Director at ICOT, Music Director at the Peterborough Concert band, and a composer and teaching artist with the Canadian Opera Company. In 2020 Saman's debut composition album "Breathing in the Shadows" was recorded and released by Leaf Music. All song cycles in this album have won awards both in Canada and the United States including a 2022 JUNO Awards nomination. His second album, “Microlocking” was released by People|Places|Records in 2021. www.samanshahimusic.com

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