Ziya Tabassian began learning the tombak (Iranian percussion) at the age of ten. After an initial period of study in Iran, he continued to learn on his own. From 1994 to 2001, he studied western classical percussion with Julien Grégoire in Montreal and obtained a bachelor’s degree in performance from the University of Montreal. In the winter of 2003, he was in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, where he explored a repertoire of contemporary music on Iranian percussion instruments. He then continued his research through advanced courses with Bahman Rajabi (Tehran), Aziz Alami (Fez), Trichy Sankaran (Toronto), Misirli Ahmet (Istanbul), Shree Sundarkumar, and Yogesh Samsi (India).

As a percussionist, Ziya is active in the fields of early medieval, renaissance, and baroque music, contemporary and current music, and world music. He has performed in over 40 countries in prestigious concert halls and festivals with internationally renowned ensembles.

Maryam Tazhdeh has been a composer and musician and a Târ and Setâr teacher.  She has also been a university professor for 14 years, a researcher, and columnist in the field of Iranian music.

Her musical credits include the albums This Infinite Description; composer and musician, Segah, Afshari; composer, Negshbandan; composer and musician, Singing in the Shadow. She has performed as a solo musician as well as in group concerts in Canada, Iran, The Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Greece, Austria, Turkmenistan, and Turkey.