Born in Tehran, Mazyar Kashian began learning music at the music conservatory of Tehran in the field of composition alongside learning cello and piano at the age of 11. Moreover, he studied and practiced Persian traditional music (Radif) on Kamancheh in Maktabkhaneh (school) of Mirza Abdollah under the supervision of Mohammad-Reza Lotfi. He finished his studies in composition with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the classes of Johannes Schöllhorn, Brigitta Muntendorf, and Miroslav Srnka at the Institute for New Music at the Cologne University of Music and did his minor in piano. Currently, he is working on his master’s degree in musicology and Tonsatz at the same institution. He has participated in masterclasses by composers such as Mathias Spahlinger, Georg Friedrich Haas, Simon Steen-Andersen, Enno Poppe, and Carola Bauckholt. His pieces were performed by various ensembles such as Ensemble Musikfabrik, Leise Dröhnung, and Trio Abstrakt and premiered in festivals such as ACHT BRÜCKEN Festival and MaerzMusik – Berliner Festspiele.
In addition to the composition, another aspect of his work is theoretical and analytical for which he received the DAAD scholarship for a research residency in Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel to work on the music of Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Conlon Nancarrow, György Ligeti, and Helmut Lachenmann.