1914–1985
Composer who brought maqam into symphonic music.
Ziyodullo Shahidi brought classical maqam into symphonic form. He completed his composition studies at the Moscow Conservatory in 1957. His opera Komde & Madan drew on a poem by Bedil. In Symphony of Maqams (1977), he used themes from Shashmaqom in an orchestral work.
Honorary Chairperson Emeritus
1943–2026
Orientalist and founder of the Foundation and Fonus.
Munira Shahidi studied humanism in Persian-Tajik and European poetry. Her book Ibn Sina and Dante appeared in 1986. She established the Foundation in 1992 and founded the journal Fonus. She edited the journal, which published articles in Tajik, Russian and English. Her title of Honorary Chairperson Emeritus remains hers in perpetuity and will not pass to anyone else.
Executive Chairperson
Historian of the Silk Road.
Nargis Nurulla-Khoja studies intellectual history along the Silk Road and in societies shaped by Islam. Her research also examines decolonial thought and Central Asian cultural heritage. She is co-author, with Farangis Nurulla-Khoja, of Echoes of Chiaroscuro: Unspoken Stories of Light (2025).
Vice-President
Composer of chamber and orchestral music.
Farangis Nurulla-Khoja composes chamber and orchestral music. Her Eluvia (2000–2001) pairs cello and bamboo chime with electronics. She holds a doctorate in composition from the University of Gothenburg.