Aspiring professional clarinetist promotes peace and understanding through performing music from Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan
“We’ve long believed music can heal and transform souls,” said Cheryl O’Donoghue, CEO at Aspire2STEAM.org. “This belief is not only shared by Paniz Shafaei, but also amplified beautifully through her music and desire to offer us all unique insights into the daily fabric of Persianspeaking countries, ultimately, so we can experience a part of the world in a way that goes far beyond that which we see on the evening news.”
As an Iranian female artist, Paniz’s options to pursue advanced studies in her area of expertise—clarinet performance—were extremely limited after she received her bachelor’s degree from Tehran University of Art. She worked hard to research several options and received a lucky break when a teacher at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) gave her an invitation letter to continue her clarinet performance education at the university. This act of kindness paved a path for Paniz to put into motion a dream to move to the United States to further her studies even though it was close to impossible for an Iranian to not only apply for, let alone be granted a U.S.