Deo Munyakazi, inanga et voix

Deo Munyakazi (born 1992 in Gakenke, Rwanda) is an award-nominated inanga player, singer, and composer who has become one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Rwandan music.

He became the youngest and best inanga player in Rwanda in 2015. His passion and ability to fuse Rwandan blues with other genres quickly elevated him to perform at major festivals across East Africa and Europe, sharing stages with legends like Grammy Award winner Joss Stone, Cecile Kayirebwa, Jeff Neve, Guillaume Perret, and Kenyan nyatiti player Makadem.

Through the Inanga Worldwide platform, Deo is committed to preserving this ancient harp-like instrument while modernizing it for the world stage — building bridges between Rwandan oral traditions and contemporary global sound.

Karin Cuellar, violon baroque

Karin A. Cuellar Rendon is a historical violinist and Bolivian researcher currently based in Montreal, Canada. She regularly performs with Montreal-based early music ensembles such as Ensemble Caprice, Arion, Les Boréades, and L’Harmonie des Saisons. Her past collaborations include the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Florilegium, the Oxford Bach Soloists, Ex Cathedra, the American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, ARTEK, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia. She is the first violinist of the Ximenez Quartet and was recently appointed Artistic Director of the International Baroque Music Festival “Misiones de Chiquitos” in Bolivia. Ms. Cuellar currently serves as Chair of the Board of Early Music America and Artistic Director of ClassiqueInclusif, an Ensemble Caprice initiative that won the 2024 OPUS Montreal Inclusion and Diversity Award.

Cuellar earned a Master of Arts in Historical Performance from Case Western Reserve University under Julie Andrijeski and Ross Duffin, and an Advanced Diploma in baroque violin from the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied with Maggie Faultless, Rachel Podger, and Matthew Truscott as a recipient of the San Marino and Vincent Meyer scholarships. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Musicology at McGill University, supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec, with a research focus on performance practices in South America during the first half of the nineteenth century, using as a case study the music of Peruvian composer Pedro Ximenez Abrill Tirado (1784–1856).

Kyran Assing, violoncelle baroque

Kyran Assing is a Trinidadian cellist and gambist based in Montreal, performing with classical and world music ensembles both locally and internationally. Passionate about cultural sustainability, he teaches in Quebec’s public schools, runs a private studio, and also works in arts administration. He serves on the board of directors of Les Voix Humaines Consort.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Orchestral Performance from the University of British Columbia (with Eric Wilson) and a Master’s in Early Music from McGill University (with Susie Napper). Kyran has received major scholarships and grants, including the International Leader of Tomorrow Award, the Schulich and Max Stern Scholarships, and Canadian public funding to support his research and performances across Latin and North America, the Caribbean, Japan, and Europe.

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Music Education at UQAM, Kyran’s research explores historical African diaspora music practices in the Americas. As the founder of Les Goûts réunis – des Amériques, he arranges and performs European and American baroque repertoire.

Ziya Tabassian, percussion

Ziya Tabassian is artistic director of Montréal’s 9e Musique@17h VoixMonde series at the 9e Grande Salle, Festival Accès Asie and the Garage Concerts series and is recognized for his virtuosity and innovative approach to percussion.  

Festival Accès Asie is a Montréal-based multidisciplinary festival, founded in 1995, that showcases and celebrates Asian arts, cultures, and stories through diverse artistic programming and community engagement. 

9e Musique@17hVoixMonde and Concerts Garage are principally offered to immigrants who are professional musicians. The aim is to help outstanding artists introduce their culture of origin, and work with local artists in a spirit of diversity and inclusion. 23% of the Canadian population are immigrants. Concerts Garage focuses on the Plateau-Mont-Royal, “the most densely populated district in Canada,” recognized internationally as a major artistic center with a large concentration of artists, musicians and arts organizations. 

Ziya began his musical journey at the age of ten in Iran, where he immersed himself in the study of the tombak. After moving to Quebec, he pursued classical Western percussion studies with Julien Grégoire from 1994 to 2001 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Performance from the Université de Montréal. A pivotal moment in Ziya’s artistic development occurred during an artistic residency at the Banff Centre in 2003, where he explored Iranian percussion within a contemporary context—an approach that continues to shape Ziya’s distinctive musical voice. 

Ziya’s artistic quest has led him to advanced training with renowned masters including Bahman Rajabi, Aziz Alami, Trichy Sankaran, Mısırli Ahmet, Shree Sundarkumar, and Yogesh Samsi. Driven by boundless musical curiosity, Tabassian has established himself as a distinctive figure at the crossroads of early music (medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque), contemporary music, and world music traditions. 

A sought-after percussionist, he collaborates with numerous ensembles and artists, notably Ensemble Caprice. Ziya’s performances have taken him to stages in more than 40 countries, appearing at international festivals and prestigious concert halls. 

Supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts, he has also contributed to recordings with artists such as the Kronos Quartet, Kayhan Kalhor, and Mercan Dede. Ziya’sdiscography includes the albums Tombak (2007), Le Cercle des Cycles (2017), Zarb-e Osul (2020), Remembrances (2023), and most recently SafarNameh (2025). Ziya’s compositions are characterized by a rich sonic palette that brings together Persian rhythmic traditions and contemporary musical aesthetics. 

Ziya’s work continues to captivate audiences through a compelling dialogue between tradition and innovation.