Afarin Nazarijou (Qanun, Iran) and Isabel Crespo Pardo (Voice, NYC/Costa Rica) have developed their duo for two years, performing Persian classical music, Latin American folk music, Jazz, and free improvisation. Their distinct musical and cultural backgrounds filter into their improvisations, creating a rich tapestry of new and traditional sounds.

They work together composing open form pieces that reimagine song traditions through the lens of free music. Their compositions employ forms and modes particular to Persian classical music, original poems in Farsi and in Spanish, and explore timbres and gestures located in and between the qanun and the voice.

Thematically, their pieces are born from a need to communicate and a want to share, the duo’s work is informed by their experiences as immigrant and first generation American, as people of color, as women and as queer folx.