Duo Nessi (Niloufar Shiri and Chatori Shimizu) is inviting composers to collaborate over the course of one year to create a new work for sho and kamancheh for their 2026/2027 season. Two composers will be selected to collaborate with Nessi. These collaborations will include two reading sessions with the duo (where you can test your sketches with the instrumentalists), a performance, and a professional video recording of your piece in a music-video style.
All rehearsals and workshops will be virtual. The location of the performance is to be determined. Composers are encouraged but not required to attend the performance. No travel stipends are available, but Duo Nessi is happy to write letters of invitation for use in travel grant applications.
❖ APPLICATION
Unlike a traditional call for scores, this opportunity offers composers the chance to work directly with Nessi over the course of one year during the composition process. Rather than submitting works specifically for this ensemble, we ask that you submit your CV and/or Biography in PDF format, two scores and two links to videos or audio that you feel best represent your compositional language, totaling no more than 20 minutes in duration. You can also write a brief explanation of how you would like to use the two instruments in your new piece and/or your ideas for the music video, which will give us a more clear picture of your new work. Please see “Instrumental Information” to know more about Shō and Kamancheh.
Composers who currently live in countries different from the ones they were born in are eligible to apply (e.g., born in Canada, currently living in Singapore). There are no limitations based on faith, background, gender, age, or level of experience. All applications will be reviewed and adjudicated by the duo. There is NO FEE to apply.
There is NO FEE to apply.
All application submitted by August 1, 2025 will be considered.
❖ INSTRUMENTAL INFORMATION
Shō – Composer’s Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0RWu0wve-g&t=573s
Writing for the Iranian Kamancheh: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NPttywo5-vfRcOr_ePxUjuWr36vn_bI1dfUC6YL6_Qs/edit?tab=t.0
❖ DUO NESSI
Nessi is a duo collective comprising Shō player Chatori Shimizu and Kamancheh player Niloufar Shiri. Leveraging their dual roles as instrumentalists and composers, they create musical works that integrate improvisation, choreography, multimedia, poetry, and, at times, camerawork. Their music explores the theme of “relocation,” reflecting their current experiences of living in countries different from their birthplaces. Shimizu and Shiri, long-established performers of traditional Japanese and Persian music, formed their duo in early 2024. They debuted their collaboration at the POTÉ Festival in France in November 2024. Duo Nessi has performed at venues across the United State’s New England region, including the Chocolate Church, The Word Barn, and BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity, as part of the OneBeat Music Exchange.