Diaspora Arts Connection Announces Let Her Sing® 2026 Lineup and Special San Francisco Film Program
Six acclaimed female vocalists will perform in San Francisco and San Diego as the program celebrates its 10th
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Six acclaimed female vocalists will perform in San Francisco and San Diego as the program celebrates its 10th anniversary and expands to San Diego
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Diaspora Arts Connection today announced the artist lineup for the 10th anniversary of Let Her Sing®: A Celebration of Female Voices, its flagship program celebrating women vocalists and affirming the right of women to sing, create, and be heard.
The 2026 lineup features Mina Deris, Eilbret Dooman, Marjan Farsad, Mehrnam Rastegari, Marjan Farsad, Roxana Sarrafi, and Gelareh Sheibani. All six artists will perform at both the San Francisco and San Diego concerts. Iranian-Canadian soprano and singer-songwriter Golrokh Aminian, an alumnus of Let Her Sing®, will serve as Master of Ceremonies for this milestone edition.
The San Francisco concert will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA. One week later, Let Her Sing® will make its San Diego debut on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, presented in collaboration with the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego.
In addition to the two concerts, Diaspora Arts Connection will present a special program of three film screenings at YBCA on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Presented exclusively in San Francisco, the screenings will explore women’s right to sing and the experiences of artists whose voices have been censored, restricted, or excluded from public performance. Film titles, screening times, and additional program information will be announced separately.
For ten years, Let Her Sing® has brought artists and communities together in celebration and support of the female voice—particularly in places where women continue to face restrictions on singing and public artistic expression. The program works at the intersection of arts and human rights, recognizing that the freedom to create, perform, and participate in cultural life is inseparable from human dignity.
“Let Her Sing has always been about more than a music festival,” said Nazy Kaviani, Founder and Executive Director of Diaspora Arts Connection. “It creates a space where women’s voices are heard, honored, and amplified. Amplifying marginalized voices is not simply about giving artists a stage, it is about recognizing their dignity, preserving their stories, and affirming their right to be heard.”
The 10th anniversary lineup reflects the cultural, linguistic, and artistic diversity at the heart of Let Her Sing®.
Mina Deris is an Ahwazi Arab Iranian vocalist from Abadan in southern Iran. Drawing from Arabic classical music and regional musical traditions, her work brings visibility to the cultural heritage and lived experiences of Iran’s Arab communities.
Eilbret Dooman is an Assyrian vocalist whose performances draw from her cultural heritage and personal journey. Her participation reflects Let Her Sing®’s commitment to presenting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the communities of Iran and the wider diaspora.
Marjan Farsad is an Iranian singer-songwriter, animator, and illustrator known for creating an intimate artistic world in which music and visual storytelling come together. Her songs explore home, memory, migration, relationships, and the emotional landscapes of diasporic life.
Roxana Sarrafi is a Persian classical and traditional vocalist dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich heritage of Iranian vocal music. Trained in Persian classical singing and the Radif tradition, she has performed throughout the United States and collaborated with artists across classical and world-music traditions.
Gelareh Sheibani is an Iranian singer-songwriter and performer whose work brings a contemporary sensibility to Persian-language music. Through original songwriting and emotionally direct performance, she explores identity, freedom, and personal experience.
Mehrnam Rastegari is an award-winning Iranian composer, singer, violinist, and master kamancheh player. Her work connects Persian musical traditions with contemporary composition and cross-cultural experimentation, expanding the expressive possibilities of one of Iran’s most distinctive instruments.
The program will be hosted by Golrokh Aminian, an Iranian-Canadian soprano, songwriter, and performer whose work bridges Persian music, poetry, classical vocal traditions, and contemporary cultural expression, and who previously appeared as an artist in Let Her Sing®.
Both concerts will feature the Let Her Sing® house band under the direction of Music Director Yahya Alkhansa, with Navid Ghaem Maghami returning as Art Director.
The October 11 film program expands the anniversary beyond the concert stage. By bringing cinema and live performance into conversation, the program will examine what is lost when women are silenced—and what becomes possible when their voices are supported, documented, and heard.
The screenings will offer historical and human context, while the concerts will place women’s voices directly at the center of the stage. Together, the programs affirm music and film as forms of testimony, cultural preservation, resistance, and connection.
The 2026 season also marks a major expansion for Let Her Sing®. Its first San Diego presentation, in collaboration with the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego, will introduce the program to new Southern California audiences while deepening DAC’s partnerships with local cultural organizations.
“Reaching our 10th anniversary is deeply meaningful,” Kaviani said. “Bringing Let Her Sing to San Diego for the first time allows us to extend its message of artistic freedom and solidarity to new communities. These artists represent different traditions and experiences, but they share the courage to use their voices fully and freely.”
Tickets are available via the Diaspora Arts Connection website.
About Diaspora Arts Connection
Diaspora Arts Connection is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to supporting artists from diasporic, immigrant, and underrepresented communities. Through concerts, storytelling programs, film screenings, workshops, festivals, and artist-support initiatives, DAC creates platforms for cultural exchange, artistic freedom, and deeper understanding across communities.
Working at the intersection of arts, cultural memory, and human rights, DAC is committed to amplifying artists whose work expands public understanding of migration, identity, freedom of expression, and belonging.
For more information, visit www.diasporaartsconnection.org.
Shayan Ravandoust
Diaspora Arts Connection
+1 925-318-2017
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Excerpts of Let Her Sing 2024
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