Hoda is an Iranian-Slovak cellist, chamber musician and workshop leader based in Manchester. She is a graduate of the Royal Northern Collage of Music and will begin her postgraduate studies in cello performance at the Royal Academy of Music in September 2023.

Inspired by a plethora of sound worlds, Hoda finds herself working at the intersect of classical music, folk and jazz. Recent highlights have included touring Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, performing as part of K’in Ensemble – a 15-piece fusion collective - and forming a new duo with jazz guitarist and Santur player Pedraum Agahi. As a budding composer and songwriter Hoda is grateful to have participated in Manchester Jazz Festival’s Hothouse scheme, where she was commissioned to compose and perform original music, and in Brighter Sound’s residency on collaborative composition and improvisation led by Jazz saxophonist Nubya Garcia.

Hoda is particularly interested making music provision inclusive and accessible to all. As a musical workshop facilitator at Arts for Recovery in the community (ARC) in Stockport, she works with young people to support mental health, socialisation and confidence. She has also worked as a Teaching Assistant at RNCM Pathfinder, a programme designed to increase opportunities for children and young people who face barriers to their musical progression.  Hoda believes that each person can contribute to the betterment of the world and as a Senior Ambassador at the Benedetti Foundation enjoys helping ambassadors discover what this may look like for them.