A virtuoso setar player and acclaimed composer, Kiya Tabassian has established himself on the international music scene with his ensemble Constantinople and as a soloist. Renowned for his cross-cultural musical encounters, he travels across five continents to present his creations worldwide.
As a composer, performer, and improviser, he has collaborated with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, CBC, and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. He contributed to the MediMuses project (2002-2005), researching Mediterranean music, and worked with the Atlas Ensemble (Netherlands) as a tutor, bridging contemporary music and oral traditions.
In 2015, he founded and directed the first world music residency at Banff Centre, and from 2017 to 2022, he was Associate Artist at Rencontres musicales de Conques (France). He co-founded the Centre des musiciens du monde in Montreal in 2017 and is a board member of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.
