Kianoush Khalilian

Kianoush Khalilian is an award-winning Ney player and composer who began studying the Ney in 1990 under master musician Hassan Nahid in Tehran. Since then, Kianoush’s Ney has resonated across Asia, Europe, Canada, and the USA, with performances at renowned festivals such as San Lorenzo (Italy), Rencontres musicales de Conques (France), The Lavazza IncluCity Festival in collaboration with the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) in Toronto and the Toronto Jazz Music Festival. He has performed in countries including Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Mexico and many more. He has collaborated with leading ensembles, including the JUNO Award-winning Constantinople, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM), Opera Canada, and the Canadian Arabic Orchestra (CAO).

Kianoush has received multiple grants from Canadian arts funding bodies, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, supporting his creative projects and contributions to cultural exchange. In 2023, he released Fly Again in Canada, an album rooted in traditional Persian Dastgahs, blending classical and contemporary elements to highlight the expressive power of the Ney and connect cultures through music.

Kianoush is the founder of CAE, the multicultural ensemble of the Canadian Asian Music Society (CAMS). Bringing together master musicians from across Asia, CAE creates cross-cultural works that address shared human concerns, especially environmental issues, through the universal language of music.

He also founded the Canadian Asian Music Society (CAMS), a Toronto-based organization that promotes cultural exchange through concerts, events, and education, highlighting the richness of Asian musical traditions and their connection to Canadian music.

Beyond the stage, Kianoush shares his expertise through teaching and has authored an instructional book on the Persian Ney. He has also served as a jury member in the World Music program at York University, contributing his deep knowledge of Iranian music to academic evaluation and mentorship.