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Born in 1974 in Iran, Shahriar Sharifpour discovered the santour in 1989, a traditional Persian instrument that has had a lasting influence on his musical sensibility. After studying at the University of Art in Tehran, he taught music at several institutes in Iran while developing his work as a composer.
In 2002, he was awarded prizes at the 2nd edition of the Iranian University Music Festival (Tehran), where he received the second prize for composition in classical music as well as the second prize for composition in traditional Iranian music. In the same year, he made a symphonic arrangement of the work Arezouy-e Jân, performed by the National Orchestra of Iran at the Saad Abad Palace in Tehran.
Having settled in Belgium in 2012, he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Daniel Capellettiand Michel Lysight, where he obtained a Specialized Master’s degree in Composition with distinction. He also furthered his training by participating in several composition masterclasses with composers such as Elisabeth Chojnacka, Graham Fitkin, Frederic Rzewski and Guillaume Connesson.
In 2018, he participated as a santour player in a musical project led by Swiss composer Simon Ho, devoted to the live musical accompaniment of the silent film Egged On (1926) by Charley Bowers, presented notably as part of the Ghent Silent Film Festival (Belgium). The project brought together fourteen musicians from East and West, from different musical traditions and backgrounds, around an original composition by Simon Ho, with musical direction and coordination by pianist Emma Heijink. After a year of rehearsals and collective research, the ensemble developed a musical language combining traditional Eastern and Western instruments, as well as pop, jazz and rock influences. The project resulted in numerous concerts and performances in Belgium.
His work as a composer lies within the field of contemporary music. His writing explores the relationships between modal thought, rhythmic organization and orchestral colour, incorporating certain characteristics of Persian musical traditions into a resolutely contemporary language, without resorting to quotation or stylistic imitation.
His works have received recognition in several international competitions. A laureate of the Courants d’Air Festival of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 2015 and 2016, several of his works were selected and performed on six occasions as part of the Osmose Intermezzo International Composition Festival (Brussels) between 2017 and 2025. In 2020, he received the second prize at the Artistes en Herbe International Composition Competition (Luxembourg), was a finalist in the Prix Vedrarias International Competition (France) with his work Il n’y a rien à voir for sixteen flutes, and became a laureate of the 2nd edition of the Prof. Marin Goleminov International Composition Competition(Bulgaria). In 2021, he won the first prize at the Prix Vedrarias International Composition Competition (France).
In 2026, his work L’âme ou la matérialité received a Mention of Merit at the 4th International Patricia Adkins Chiti Composition Competition, in Bari, Italy.
His catalogue includes works for symphony orchestra, wind orchestra, ensembles, chamber music and solo instruments, regularly performed in Belgium and abroad.