Overview
Mina Neizari is an Iranian musician, musicologist, and ethnomusicologist. She began studying music in childhood with the santur and earned a High School Diploma in Music from Tehran Music School, a B.A. in Music from the University of Art, Tehran, and an M.A. in Music from the University of Tehran, where she studied under Dariush Talai. She later earned an M.M. in Ethnomusicology, advised by Katherine Meizel, and a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies, both from Bowling Green State University.
Neizari specializes in the study, analysis, and transcription of the radif, the core repertoire of Iranian classical music. Her recordings include Advanced Radif for Santur by Faramarz Payvar, published by the Mahoor Institute of Culture & Arts. In addition to the santur, she performs on the setar, piano, tombak, and voice. She has taught music theory, music history, and santur at Tehran Music Art School and served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the World Music course at Bowling Green State University. Her artistic achievements include numerous first-prize awards at national music festivals in Iran.
Her research interests lie at the intersections of sound studies, gender, embodiment and performance, music and disability, and the transformation of Iranian music through modernization, transcription, and transnational exchange. She has presented her work at international conferences, including the British Forum for Ethnomusicology at King's College London.
Neizari is currently a Ph.D. student in Music and Sound Studies at Cornell University. Her research explores music, embodiment, performance, and gender in contemporary Iran.