Kiya Tabassian

Kiya Tabassian (born in 1976 in Tehran) is an Iranian musician, singer, and composer. He moved to Canada in 1990 and created the musical ensemble Constantinople, assuming the roles of both artistic director and composer.

Constantinople explores the interplay between Persian musical traditions and a diverse array of global styles. Their performances span across numerous countries, featuring collaborations musicians such as Kayhan Kalhor, Ablaye Cissoko, Ghalia Benali, Françoise Atlan, Hana Blažíková, Shashank Subramanyam, and Marco Beasley.

Kiya Tabassian, raised in Iran, learned the setâr, a traditional Persian string instrument, at the age of 12. This led him to play and to reinterpret pieces from traditional Persian music during his formative years... At the age of 14, he, along with his parents and two brothers, moved in Montreal, Canada

He studied music beside Reza Ghassemi, Kayhan Kalhor, and Gilles Tremblay at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Kiya Tabassian founded the Constantinople ensemble in 1998 and has been its artistic director ever since. This group, spanning world, ancient, and baroque music, is dedicated to blending musical traditions from both the East and the West.

From 2002 to 2005, Kiya Tabassian actively contributed to the international MediMuses project where he was part of the research group on the history of Mediterranean music and collaborated on various publishing and recording endeavors.

In parallel, Tabassian's compositional skills have been sought after by several musical formations and institutions, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Bradyworks, and the European Broadcasting Union. He has also composed music for documentary films such as "Jabaroot" and "Voices of the Unheard."

In 2015, Kiya Tabassian initiated and directed the first-ever world music residency program at the Banff Center for the Arts. The following year, he contributed his vocals to the soundtrack of the video game "Assassin's Creed: Origins."

In 2017, as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary, Tabassian composed the anthem "Mémoires d'Ahuntsic," presented as a gift to the city. That same year, he co-founded the Centre des musiciens du monde in Montreal with ethnomusicologist Frédéric Léotar, where he served as artistic director and oversaw the "Centre des musiciens du monde" record collection on the Analekta label until 2022.

In 2020, Kiya Tabassian co-authored, alongside poet Hélène Dorion, the musical and poetic suite "Le temps des forêts", based on life stories collected from residents of LTCHs in Montreal.

Having spent seven years on the Conseil des arts de Montréal, where he presided over the music decision-making committee for three years, Tabassian joined the Board of Directors of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec in 2023. He was also commissioned by the Conseil québécois de la musique to lead a reflection committee on the role of world music in the realm of concert music.

• Jardin de la Mémoire (2000)