Maryam Akhondy

Iranian women and Persian music Maryam Akhondy (born 1957) is a classical trained singer from Tehran, Iran.

[1] Between 1999 and 2000, Maryam Akhondy created an all-female a cappella group, Banu, because in Iran, it is difficult for female singers to appear publicly.

Maryam Akhondy's creative work includes the research of old Persian music of the pre-Islamic age as well.

[2][3][4] Maryam Akhondy as a soloist has also done non-Iranian collaborations with the Schäl Sick Brass Band of Cologne between 1994 and 1999, with Mike Herting during the Ruhrtriennale in 2008, and with Bobby McFerrin in 2009.

[5][6] In 2023 Maryam Akhondy received the renowned WDR Jazz Prize in the category "Music Cultures".