Biography
Composer | Educator | Artistic Director
Dr. Parisa Sabet is an Iranian-Canadian composer and media artist whose work opens spaces for reflection, dialogue, and human connection. Her creations—ranging from intimate acoustic pieces to immersive multimedia installations—explore cultural identity, resilience, and the voices of women often left unheard, inviting audiences to feel, reflect, and engage. Across all her projects, she is known for creating emotionally resonant experiences that linger long after the final note.
Whether through intimate works like the mini-opera A Girl Who Missed the Train (2025) or large-scale interactive installations such as Sabzeh (2025), Sepideh (2024), and Silent (2022), Parisa weaves together music, visual art, craft, and movement to explore themes of collective strength and human rights. Her debut album, A Cup of Sins (2022), confronts oppression, freedom of speech, and human rights, offering a musical lens through which to consider both the personal and the universal.
Beyond her creative practice, Dr. Sabet is a visionary artistic leader dedicated to connecting people across cultural and political divides. From 2019 to 2024, she served on the Board of Directors of the Aurora Cultural Centre, chairing the Governance and Nominating Committee. She was Artistic Leader for the Women, Art, Resilience concert (2025), presenting works by women composers worldwide, and for the Dawn Initiative (2019), which featured world premieres by an international roster of composers. As co-artistic director of the Israeli-Iranian Musical Initiative, she led concerts celebrating Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian cultures, creating vital spaces for dialogue and unity.
Driven by the belief that no artist should abandon their craft due to systemic barriers, she founded No Need to Vanish—a nonprofit providing accessible music technology education to musicians from diverse backgrounds, equipping emerging artists with the tools to share their unique stories and perspectives.
Dr. Sabet holds a Doctor of Musical Arts, a Master of Music in Composition, and a Master of Music Technology and Digital Media from the University of Toronto. She has received numerous distinctions, including the Mirkopoulos and Miller/Khoshkish fellowships and the Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award. Her mentors include Christos Hatzis, Keith Tedman, Kyong Mee Choi, Ka Nin Chan, and Stacy Garrop.
Through all her endeavors, Dr. Sabet remains committed to using music and media as a bridge—connecting people, stories, and cultures in meaningful and transformative ways.
