Amir Eslami
Amir Eslami is a composer, Ney (Persian end-blown flute) performer, educator, and cultural leader based in Vancouver, Canada. Born in Isfahan, Iran in 1971, he began studying the Ney in 1987 and has since developed an active international career in Persian classical and contemporary music.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music (1997) and a Master of Arts in Music Composition (2003). From 2005 to 2018, he served as a faculty member at the Faculty of Music, Art University of Tehran, where he received the awards for Best Lecturer (2008) and Best Researcher (2009).
His compositional output has been widely recognized, earning three national and three international composition awards, with honors from Italy, Australia, and the Netherlands. He has contributed as composer, Ney performer, producer, and recording engineer on 28 albums.
His album All of You (2011) received a 4-star review from Songlines (UK) and formed the basis of his lecture-recitals titled A New Approach to Improvisation in Persian Music, presented at the University of London (2010) and the University of Cambridge (2011).
Eslami has served as a jury member for the 2 Agosto International Composition Competition in Bologna (2012), and his works have been performed internationally in Iran, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Netherlands, and Canada.
After immigrating to Vancouver in 2015, he became an active figure in the Canadian intercultural music scene. He produced and hosted the radio program “Aram-e Jan” on Vancouver Co-op Radio, dedicated to Persian music and poetry.
In 2016, he co-founded the Vancouver Iranian Choir, which now includes over 40 singers. In the same year, he established Rumi Records, an independent music label. His orchestral work Azeri Dances was performed by the Ambleside Symphony Orchestra, and Ghalandar was performed by the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) in 2018.
In 2018, he founded the Iranian Music Society of British Columbia (IMSBC), which has grown to over 100 members. He also created the Hazar Ava Ensemble, a female vocal trio whose debut album The Secret of Nightingale’s Song was released by Rumi Records in 2019.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eslami led the transition of the Vancouver Iranian Choir to online rehearsals and produced eight virtual choir video projects.
In 2021, he joined the Naadaleela Ensemble, led by Curtis Andrews, focusing on intercultural musical collaboration.
Since 2021, he has served as a juror for the Canadian Folk Music Awards. In 2022, he released The Memory of a Sweetheart, a vocal work based on the poetry of Dr. Mehdi Meshkini. That same year, his orchestral composition Ney & Orchestra in Three Movements was performed by the Lions Gate Sinfonia Orchestra for Vancouver’s Nowruz celebration.
Since September 2022, he has been a composition instructor at Capilano University, where he teaches jazz students. In the same year, he founded the Multicultural Wind Ensemble in Vancouver.
In April 2025, his recent works were performed by the Vancouver Iranian Choir and members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra under the direction of Leslie Dala.
In 2026, he created the dramatic–musical theatre work One Commander and Three Poets, which received strong audience and artistic response.
Selected Awards, Honors, and Professional Roles
- First Prize, World Music Festival – Ney Performer, Foozhan Ensemble, Tehran (1998)
- First Prize, Iranian Ensemble, 4th Nationwide Student Music Festival, Tehran (2003)
- Commendation, 5th Nationwide Students’ Festival, Tehran (2004)
- Best Lecturer, Faculty of Music, Art University of Tehran (2008)
- 3rd Prize, Olympic Song Composition Competition, Iran Olympic Academy (2008)
- 1st Prize, 2 Agosto International Composition Competition, Bologna, Italy (2009)
- Best Researcher, Faculty of Music, Art University of Tehran (2009)
- 3rd Prize, Shakuhachi Chamber Music Competition, Melbourne, Australia (2010)
- 4-Star Review for All of You, Songlines Magazine, UK (2011)
- Jury Member, 2 Agosto International Composition Competition, Bologna, Italy (2012)
- Faculty Member, Ameropa Music Festival, Prague, Czech Republic (2013)
- Honorable Mention, Atlas Academy Composition Competition, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2014)
- Member, Book Council, Art University of Tehran (2014)
- Jury Member, Ahmad Pejman Biennial Composition Contest, Tehran (2015)
- Producer, “Aram-e Jan” Radio Program, Vancouver Co-op Radio (2015)
- Co-founder, Vancouver Iranian Choir (2016)
- Founder, Hazar Ava Ensemble (2016)
- Founder, Rumi Records (2016)
- Board Member, Iranian Music Society of British Columbia (2018–present)
- Board Member, Mohseni Foundation, Vancouver (2019 – present)
- Juror, Canadian Folk Music Awards (2021–present)
- Member, Naadaleela Ensemble (2021–present)
- Instructor, Capilano University (2022)
- Founder, Multicultural Wind Ensemble (2022)