Kiya Tabassian
About
Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1976, Kiya Tabassian started learning Persian music under Reza Ghasemi and Kayhan Kalhor. He moved to Quebec in 1990 and continued his training on the sétar by himself while studying musical composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Gilles Tremblay.
In 1998, he co-founded Constantinople with his brother Ziya Tabassian. Since then he has initiated and developed some 20 programs and recorded over 10 albums with Constantinople. Invited to Canada and in many countries in Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, as a member of Constantinople or other artistic collaboration, from 2002 to 2005, he was involved in the international MediMuses project, doing research on the history and repertoire of Mediterranean music. As a composer, Kiya Tabassian has been commissioned by institutions as varied and prestigious as Radio-Canada and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. He has received several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. Kiya Tabassian is currently president of the Montreal Art Council's Music section.
Source: www.analekta.com