Abeir “Veeru” Shan (born December 22nd, 1990) is the first female percussionist, artistic activist, facilitator and a session musician, a Turkish descent born in Pakistan. Since 2012 she has worked as a percussionist internationally as well as in various Pakistani musical series i.e. Nescafe Basement, Pepsi Battle of the Bands, Acoustic Station and she is the first female instrumentalist to appear in Coke Studio house band.
Veeru is a key member of a fusion ensemble named “SANGAT” which is collaboration between the artist from Pakistan and the U.S. She is also on an advisory board in a World Percussion program called “Drum Summit” by Hit Like A Girl contest. She graduated from The National academy of performing arts majoring in eastern classical instrument called “Tabla.” In 2015 she was awarded a musical scholarship to study at the National Theater of Korea to study Korean traditional drums.
Continuing with her passion for music, she went to the Butler School of Music at UT Austin, Texas where she enhanced her skills and knowledge in “world” percussions.
Early Life & Education
Veeru Shan grew up in Karachi where she went to St. Joseph’s Convent High School. At the age of 19, she decided to go to Lahore for further studies and experience life independently. In 2013, she graduated as a fashion designer from Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design. She embarked upon her musical journey during her time in Lahore, when the struggles of moving to an unfamiliar city and living in hostel compelled her to explore her natural talent and find solace in music.
Eventually, she bought a small Tumbek and fell in love with percussions. She started playing gigs around the city and was soon noticed by a renowned Pakistani producer, Zulfi who asked her to perform in Nescafe Basement in 2012. Her mentor got impressed by her talent and urged her to acquire formal training in music.
After graduating as a designer, Veeru came back to Karachi and started her studies in eastern classical instrument called “Tabla” from the National Academy of Performing Arts. In 2015, she was the only female from Pakistan to be selected to study Korean language and traditional drums in South Korea from the National Theater of Korea and Kyonggi University of Higher Education.
In 2017, she was awarded with a scholarship to study percussions at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 2019. Veeru is currently doing her diploma in Modern Applied Phycology and Counseling Skills from the Academy of Modern applied Psychology, UK.
Career
Veeru enhanced her skills and knowledge in the area of world percussions and performed in multiple world music ensembles and artists. She started her professional career in 2012 and was selected to perform in a television series called
Nescafe Basement season 1. It was produced by Xulfi and after the release; it was performed all over the country.
In 2013, Veeru joined a local ensemble called Sounds of Kolachi created by Ahsan Bari.
In 2014, she went to South Korea along with 12 musicians from all over the world. This collaborative ensemble performed at the Jeonju International Sori festival and Seol Fringe festival.
In 2016, she went to the US and performed with the Hispanic Caribbean ensemble, Javanese Gamelan ensemble and the Middle Eastern Ensemble of the University of Texas, Austin. She has performed with Arooj Aftab who is a New York based Pakistani musician. The residency called “Nisa” presenting the idea of Muslim women in music hosted by Creative Alliance, Baltimore. Veeru has performed with Organic Orchestra which was conducted by a renowned artist Adam Rudolf. She has also performed with a world music band called “Atash” which is based in Austin, TX.
In 2018, Shan came back to Pakistan and performed with Meesha Shafi and Fawad Khan at a musical series called Pepsi Battle of the Bands. In 2019, she was part of season 5 of the Nescafe Basement. In May 2019, she was selected to be part of the musical series called Coke Studio and was the first female instrumentalist to be in the house band.
In 2020 she worked as a percussionist in Coke Studio Season 2020.
