Constantinople is a musical ensemble that chose the journey—geographical certainly, but also historical, cultural and inner—as its cornerstone. It draws inspiration from all sources and aims for distant horizons. Inspired by the ancient city illuminating the East and West, Constantinople was founded in 2001 in Montreal by its artistic director, Kiya Tabassian.
Since its founding, the ensemble promotes the creation of new works incorporating musical elements of diverse musical traditions around the world, drawing from medieval manuscripts to a contemporary aesthetic, passing by Mediterranean Europe to Eastern traditions and New World Baroque. Underpinned by a spirit of research and creation, Constantinople has joined forces with leading international artists such as singers Marco Beasley, Françoise Atlan, Savina Yannatou and Suzie Le Blanc; the Mandingo griot Ablaye Cissoko; the Greek ensemble En Chordais, the Belgian duo Belem and the American group The Klezmatics; sarangi virtuoso Dhruba Ghosh, Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh, and Iranian kamancheh master Kayhan Kalhor.
Regularly invited to perform in international festivals and prestigious concert halls, such as the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, or WOMAD (Australia, New Zeland), Constantinople is acclaimed by the public, music professionals and critics alike.
Constantinople has been awarded several times with prices such as Prix Opus (Canada), Prix Charles Cros (France) and the 2024 JUNO Award for the Best Classical Album of the Year with Il Ponte di Leonardo (Canada).
The ensemble has 21 albums to its credit on labels Analekta, Atma, World Village, Buda Musique, MaCase, Dreyer Gaido and Glossa. Several albums have been nominated for Juno, Folk Alliance and ADISQ prices. Over the past fifteen years, Constantinople has created over 60 works and travelled to more than 290 cities in 57 countries.
Come and meet us at booth #502, #503, #504 in Americas Hall II
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