Born in Tehran in 1976, Kiya's initial training in Persian music was received from M. Torabi at the Bahrlou Institute in Tehran, from R. Ghassemi in Paris and K. Kalhor in Montreal. He has since continued to develop his musical skills on his own. At the Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal, he also studied music composition with Gilles Tremblay and Michel Gonneville.

In 1989, he founded the Tahmassebi ensemble; this group was under his direction, and he wrote several compositions in their repertoire. With this ensemble, he gave several concerts throughout Iran and on The National Radio-Television network. In 1990, upon his arrival to Canada, he co-founded the Darvich-Khan Trio, an ensemble devoted to classical Persian music. He is also co-founder of the musical ensembles Constantinople (Medieval and Renaissance music) and Nowrouz (classical Persian music) with whom he has given concerts in Canada. He has collaborated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation several times, presenting concerts and producing radio shows.

During Winter/Spring 2000, he was a resident composer for Musique Multi-Montreal, carrying through one musical project. He recorded a first album as a duo with his brother Ziya Tabassian, The Garden Of Memory, on the XXI-21 label. He is a member of the Conseil Quebecois de la Musique.

Kiya has been frequently invited to give lectures and presentations on Persian music.