Presenter

“One of the most talented and motivated musicians to come out of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.”— (Paul MacAlindin, Conductor and Author).
 

A committed lifelong learner who fluently communicates in eight languages and dialects, Boran Zaza holds degrees in piano, music education, musicology, and web development from top institutions in Iraq, Lebanon and Canada, and was most recenly graduated from the prestigious Schulich School of Music of McGill University. Boran’s professional musical engagements have led her to perform in reputable venues in Canada, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Dubai, Italy and the USA. Her piano performances have been acclaimed by the press as “dramatic and full of vivid emotion” — (Arts and Culture Today).
 

Growing up in Iraq, Boran was a pianist and percussionist of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq; and hosted her own classical music radio program called “Behind the Music”, which was the first radio program dedicated to classical music in the country.
 

Currently based in Montréal, Québec on the traditional lands of the Kanien:keha’ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Boran was the Executive and Artistic Director of the Oasis Musicale Concert Series and the Marketing Manager of the Orchestre classique de Montréal. She is currently Director of Communications and Development at Orchestras Canada. 
 

In 2022, she founded “The Zaza Award for the Best Interpretation of a work by a Female Composer”, which was presented as part of the Stepping Stone division of the Canadian Music Competition. In her free time, Boran is an award-winning videographer who also enjoys public speaking, giving conferences on social media for classical musicians, and recording and performing new arrangements of Kurdish and Middle Eastern music on piano.