Kiya Tabassian setar, voice

Kiya Tabassian is a worldly renowned setar virtuoso and composer who has established a prominent international career as a soloist and as the founder and artistic director of the ensemble Constantinople. Known for his cross-cultural musical creations, he performs worldwide and engages in projects that bridge traditions, contemporary music, and improvisation.
 
He has collaborated with major institutions such as the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, and has taken part in the international MediMuses project dedicated to Mediterranean music research. Since 2009, he has been involved with the Netherlands based chamber Atlas Ensemble and its Atlas Academy educative branch, contributing as a performer and tutor to initiatives linking oral traditions and contemporary music.
 
In 2015, he founded and directed the first world music residency programme at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. From 2017 to 2022, he served as Associate Artist at the Rencontres musicales de Conques in France, presenting both festival programmes and new creations with Constantinople.
 
His work has been recognised with major international awards, including the 2024 Juno Award for Best Classical Album (Small Ensemble) and the 2025 Anděl Award for his collaboration with Cappella Mariana.
 
He is also the artistic director of the Centre des musiciens du monde, a music centre he co-founded in Montreal in 2017, as a space for creation, meetings, exchanges and the transmission of knowledge between professional musicians and the public. For many years, his work has been supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.