I am delighted to announce that I have received funding from both Arts Council England and Jerwood Charitable Foundation to pursue ‘Stay Close’, a ten-month project harnessing contemporary classical music as a means of cultural exchange between Iran and the UK.

The project unites a wide range of institutional partners including Iran Heritage Foundation, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Nava Arts, V&A Museum, City University, Iranian Youth Development Association and Hermes Records.

I will be departing for Iran on 26th July 2013 in order to begin the first phase of research for this project. For more information and to read a blog of my progress, please see the project website here.