Setareh was born in Iran and now lives in the Netherlands, where she works as composer, pianist, improviser, multi-disciplinary artist, educator, project director and radio presenter. These varied roles are drawn together by the common thread of the search for an ever-broader musical vocabulary with which to communicate stories to the new audiences of today. Setareh has composed for projects with Unicef (AT), Holland Opera, Het Nationale Opera Ballet, Grachtenfestival, and McNicol Ballet Collective (UK), for award- winning short films ‘Sediment’ and ‘Gently Quiet’. She releases her music through her own record label ‘Hextare’, regularly performs her compositions and improvises with various ensembles and bands, and is also the artistic director of Re:Connect, a music-installation performance piece that will premiere in Oct-2021.

Setareh earned a Bachelor degree as a concert pianist from Tehran Art University and a second Bachelor from the Prins Claus Conservatoire (Groningen, NL), this time incorporating improvisation and composition. She then took a Pre-Master in composition for film at Amsterdam Conservatoire (CvA), before completing a Master’s research in New Audiences and Innovative Practice at Prins Claus Conservatory (The Netherlands).