Kiya Tabassian (born on August 11, 1976, in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

musician, singer, and composer. He moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1990 and created the musical ensemble

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, assuming the roles of both

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Constantinople includes the interplay between Persian musical traditions and a variety of global styles.

Early life and education

Tabassian was born and raised in Iran. At the age of 12, he learned the setâr, a traditional Persian string instrument. This led him to play and reinterpret pieces from traditional Persian music during his formative years. At the age of 14, he moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, with his parents and two brothers. At the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, he studied music alongside

Reza Ghassemi Reza Ghassemi (; born 1949) is an Iranian novelist and musician. Life and career Ghassemi was born in 1949 in the city of Isfahan, Iran. In addition to writing, he plays Iranian classical music and the Persian Lute, known as the Setar. He h ...

Kayhan Kalhor Kayhan Kalhor (, born on 24 November 1964) is an Iran, Iranian Kurds, Kurdish kamancheh and setar player, and a vocal composer. He has received three Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album nominations. Kalhor has also earned two nom ...

, and Gilles Tremblay.

Musical career

Kiya Tabassian founded the Constantinople ensemble in 1998 and has been its artistic director ever since. From 2002 to 2005, Tabassian was part of the research group on the history of Mediterranean music in the international MediMuses project and collaborated on various recording endeavours. Tabassian has also contributed to the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

, the

Nouvel Ensemble Moderne Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is one of the world's premier chamber orchestras specializing in contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1989 by Lorraine Vaillancourt, who serves as the ensemble's conducto ...

, Bradyworks, and the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

. He has composed music for documentary films such as ''Jabaroot'' and ''Voices of the Unheard''. In 2015, Tabassian initiated and directed a residency program at the

Banff Center for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 193 ...

. The following year, he contributed his vocals to the soundtrack of the video game ''Assassin's Creed: Origins''. Ziya has performed at the World Music Institute in New York, the

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary art, contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that cel ...

, Megaron Mousikis in Athens, and Chicago's

World Music Festival The Udaipur World Music Festival is a cultural event held at Udaipur city in the state of Rajasthan. In this event, artists from around the globe joins to give a variety of performances. The World Music Festival is scheduled to be an annual ev ...

. In 2017, as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary, Tabassian composed the anthem ''Mémoires d'Ahuntsic'', which was presented as a gift to

Ahuntsic Ahuntsic (; , ) is a district in the northern part of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Originally an independent village, Ahuntsic was first annexed by Montreal in 1910, then merged into the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in 2002. It is home to Coll ...

. That same year, he co-founded the Centre des musiciens du monde in

with

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

Frédéric Léotar, where he served as

and oversaw the "Centre des musiciens du monde" record collection on the

Analekta Analekta is Canada's largest independent classical music recording label. The label, which takes its name from the Greek word ''analekta'' ("a collection of the finest works"), was founded in 1988 by the Canadian music industry manager and entrep ...

label until 2022. In 2020, Tabassian co-authored, alongside poet

Hélène Dorion Hélène Dorion, (born 21 April 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian poet, and writer. Life Born in Quebec City, Quebec, Dorion taught literature before heading Publisher Noroît from 1991 until 2000. She also conducted a series of audio recordings of ...

, 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 to lead a reflection committee on the role of world music in the realm of concert music.

Discography

*''Jardin de la Mémoire'' (1999) *''Terres Turquoises'' (2004) *''Mania'' (2005) *''Abol Hasan Sabâ'' (2005) *''Masafat'' (2009) *''La Porta D'Oriente'' (2020)

References

Canadian people of Iranian descent People from Montreal Musicians from Tehran {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabassian, Kiya 1976 births Living people