Shahla Nikfal began her musical studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Tehran at the age of 11. While majoring in violin, she studied Iranian traditional music with some of the masters of Iranian violin techniques, including Rahmatullah Badie and Ali Tajvidi. At the same time, she began studying the qanun with Mehdi Mefttah. Ms.Nikfal later attene the fine arts academy of Tehran University where she studied the radif of Iranian traditional music with Dr. Darush Safvat and Ostad Nurali Borumand. After graduation, with a scholarship from Tehran University, she continued her qanun studies at the George Farah Academy or Eastern Music of Beirut, and the College of Arabic Music in Cairo, Eygpt.
Ms.Nikfal has taught, among other places, at the Tehran Conservatory of Music and the Art University Collective (Mojtama-e Daneshdagi-ye Honar) in Tehran. Her distinguished perfoming career includes numerous appearances in Iran, Egypt, Abu Dabi, the U.A.E., and the United States. She currently reside in the US where she continues her performing and pedagogical activities.
