Kiya Tabassian (born 1976 in Tehran) is an Iranian-Canadian musician, composer, and artistic director of the Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople, which he co-founded in 1998. A virtuoso of the Persian setar, he studied composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and Persian music with kamancheh master Kayhan Kalhor, among others. Over more than two decades, Constantinople has developed 63 programs and toured 296 cities across 59 countries, earning the Prix Opus, Prix Charles Cros, and the 2024 Juno Award for Best Classical Album.
The ensemble Constantinople with Kiya Tabassian and griot Ablaye Cissoko performed the program Traversées in Berkeley (California) for the San Francisco Early Music Society.
Constantinople received the Angel Award in the classical music category for the album Pilgrimage recorded in collaboration with the Czech ensemble Cappella Mariana.
Kiya Tabassian performed with Kayhan Kalhor and Hadim Hosseini in the program Songs of Hope at Müpa Budapest.
Constantinople received the Canadian Juno Award 2024 for best classical album of the year (small ensemble) with the recording Il Ponte di Leonardo.
Kiya Tabassian performed with Kayhan Kalhor and Hadim Hosseini in the program Songs of Hope in Toronto (Meridian Arts Centre).
