Kioomars Musayyebi was born in 1977 in Tehran and is a student of the renowned santur master  Faramarz Payevar.

Film composers Farhad Fakhreddini and  Kambiz Roshanravan taught him music theory and composition.

Qualifications

In 2010, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Instrumental Music from the Teheran University of Art.  

From 2013 to 2015, Kioomars Musayyebi completed his Master’s studies in Music.World – Cultural Diversity in Music Education at the Universität Hildesheim.

He continues to work as a lecturer for santur at the Center for World Music (CWM) – Stiftung Universität Hildesheim. Foundation.

Experience

At the beginning of his career, he worked as a santur player and composer for several Iranian music ensembles, performing in numerous concerts both in Iran and abroad.

From 2001 to 2008, he accompanied theatre groups under the direction of the renowned director Pari Saberi in performances at Tehran’s Vahdat-Halle Teheran.

He went on to produce a variety of works, including film scores, commercial music, and multimedia stories for children—both in his own studio and for external productions—through which he gained extensive experience in sound engineering and music production. 

At the age of 18, he began teaching santur at various music schools in Tehran. In 2007, he produced six instructional CDs for santur education.

In 2008, he founded his own music school in Tehran, the Avay-e-Shahrzad Music School, which continues to provide musical education to this day. 

Since 2011, he has been teaching, composing, and performing in Germany—collaborating with musicians from Europe, India, Africa, and Asia, as well as with various international ensembles.

Skills 

In addition to his active musical work, he conducts workshops and seminars on Persian music theory in various cities across Germany, including at the Landesmusikakademie Heek, the Dresden University of Music, and the  Opernhaus Dortmund—for example, during the productions Die Bürgschaft and Der kleine schwarze Fisch“..

Seit 2017 ist Musayyebi als Beirat im NRW Kultursekretariat Wuppertal tätig.

as a musician and member of the curatorial board of the collective „Beyond the roots“ and,
since 2021, as a spokesperson for the Platform for Contemporary Music Cultures (PAM) of IFM e.V. (Initiative Freie Musik Cologne).

As a music scholar, he has been teaching both the practical and theoretical aspects of music for over two decades.

Career in Music 

Musayyebi has performed as a soloist at numerous festivals, including the Moers Festival, Jazzoffensive Potsdam, Fusion Berlin, Berlin Opera House, Folk’n’Fusion (Hildesheim), Dastgah Festival (Hanover), Musica Sacra International (Marktoberdorf, Bavaria), and Ruhr International Festival (Bochum). With his ensemble, the Kioomars Musayyebi Quartett, he has also performed at Hildesheimer Wallungen, the Essen.Original Festival, and participated in the Creole NRW competitions in 2017 and 2019.

Since 2013, he has been a member of the Transorient Orchestra, a 13-member world music big band from Germany’s Ruhr region, which won the WDR Jazz Award in 2017 and was nominated in 2024 for the German Record Critics’ Award in the category “Traditional Ethnic Music.” https://www.schallplattenkritik.de/en/quarterly-critics-choice/long-list/long-list-12024

In addition to the Transorient Orchestra, he has been performing regularly since 2016 with the virtuoso guitarist Andreas Heuser as the Duo „Santur-Gitarre“. In 2015, he founded his own ensemble, the Kioomars Musayyebi Quartett, where four musicians from Iran and Germany artfully blend impressions of oriental melodies and rhythms with European arrangements, world music, and jazz influences.

Since 2017, he has also performed with the Orchester der Kulturen“ (“Orchestra of Cultures”)—“the only orchestra featuring instruments from all over the world”—under the direction of Adrian Werum. 

In 2017 and 2019, he participated in two dialogue projects of the NRW Cultural Secretariat titled “West–Eastern String Dialogue” and “ SONIQ – Oriental Strings“

Since 2018, he has been performing with the „Nouruz Ensemble“, consisting of four virtuosos of oriental instruments—djoze, santur, nay, and various percussion instruments. The ensemble of academically trained musicians performs both within and beyond Germany.

In 2018, 2019, and 2023, Musayyebi accompanied the theater productions „A Letter to a Friend in Gaza“and „House“ by the renowned director Amos Gitai in Paris and London. This collaboration continued in 2024 and 2025 with performances in Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, and Madrid.

In 2024, Musayyebi appeared with Gitai’s production „Chronic of a murder” at the Vienna Burgtheater. For Gitai’s film “Why War”, which premiered at the Biennale in 2024, he also contributed to the musical score.

In 2025, another theater premiere followed—„Golem“—in Paris and Pompeji, with further theatrical collaborations planned for 2026.

His 2021 album „A Voice keeps calling me“ was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award in the category “Traditional Ethnic Music.”

Since 2021, he has been a member of the Asambura Ensemble, an international collective of musicians dedicated to fostering constructive dialogue between different cultures and religions through cooperative artistic work.

In 2022, he contributed to Annette Maiburg’s project Oriental Colours – Literature, Music, and Dance from Iran in Dialogue”, as well as to the award-winning “Prima Materia” project by Maria Jonas and Bassem Hawar.

Since 2022, he has also been part of the Bridges-Kammerorchesters, a transcultural ensemble that premiered his compositions such as Simorgh and Entezar. 

He also participated in the musical production of the acclaimed film “Rheingold” by Fatih Akin in 2022.

In November 2023, the Orchester der Landesregierung NRW performed some of his compositions during the concert “Music Like from 1001 Nights” at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf.

In 2023, he was also involved in the multidimensional artist collective Komostronix, a project by Maren Lueg, and in the Tember Ensemble, a transcultural and electroacoustic collaboration initiated by Alireza Ostovar. With the latter, he performed at the Moers Festival and was nominated in 2024 for the German Record Critics’ Award in the categories “Electronic and Experimental / Crossovers.”(https://www.schallplattenkritik.de/bestenlisten/longlist/longlist-12024). 

In 2024, he took part in the world premiere of Doppelkonzert für Viola, Santur und Kammerorchester“by Iranian composer Golfam Khayam with the Bridges-Kammerorchester” at Hessischen Rundfunk in Frankfurt.

That same year, he also contributed to the musical realization of the award-winning film „Seven days“ by Samadi Ahadi.

The year 2025 has been marked by international performances, including appearances in theatrical contexts as well as classical concert collaborations with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Orchestre National de Bretagne in Rennes.

In 2025, the Kioomars Musayyebi Quintett, an ensemble of virtuoso musicians, also began its work.