Cimone Firdaus Rajan

Cimone Rajan, a 23-year old full-time singer and songwriter, graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2019 with a songwriting degree and music technology minor. Her interest in Islamic Studies grew progressively while she was at Berklee after participating in the Berklee Study Abroad Program in Valencia, Spain. After experiencing the rich cultural impact of the medieval Muslim world on Spanish and Mediterranean art and culture, Cimone decided to tailor her songwriting degree towards the exploration of Muslim culture, along with her own heritage as a Middle Eastern and Pakistani-Canadian. This pursuit eventually led to her upcoming debut EP (album), “after the rain”; a sonic blend of RnB and Sufi sounds. During the dual-degree MA program at Columbia and the ISMC, Cimone plans to work at the intersection of Muslim art and culture and women of the Muslim world, to better understand and study the underpinnings of their historical influences in shaping modern culture globally. She is excited to continue exploring the connection between Islam and the arts, with a hope to introducea new narrative as a Muslim artist in the western music industry.