Monika Jalili ( ) is a vocalist singing songs of Iran, mostly in Persian.

Born in the United States, Monika is of Dutch, German and Iranian descent. She studied music at The Manhattan School of Music. She was a student of Beverley Peck Johnson. Monika actively pursued a musical theater career in New York and appeared with such talents as Steve Allen and John Astin until her passion for songs of Iran led her, in 2004, to create a project called NoorSaaz with the help of Megan Weeder (now Gould) to explore and perform songs from Iran. The musicians of NoorSaaz captured the hearts of young and old Iranians around the world after their October 2005 webcast from Trinity Church on Wall Street. Monika has performed and been interviewed on Iranian television and radio from studios in Los Angeles aired worldwide since 2003. She sings in Persian, French and English languages. Her works are based on Persian folk songs and Persian traditional music, but are naturally infused with her western music training.

See also

• Music of Iran

External links

• Official website
• NoorSaaz