Honiball Joseph

an Iranian-Assyrian musician, born in Mashhad on January 2, 1971, is a composer, conductor, pianist, and the founder of the Messiah Ensemble and the Beneil Music Academy.

He has studied classical music in the conservatory and at the university.

The majority of his performances consist of vocal music and he has collaborated with some well-known artists and singers.

Some of his professional characteristics consist of: innovation in performance, creating artistic events, composing various pieces, holding concerts. Along with this, Honiball has developed art performances including dialogue between music and other fine arts.

Education

Honiball started learning music experimentally at the age of 3. In 1986, he entered the conservatory of music where he picked violin as his primary musical instrument. In 1996, he joined the music department of the Azad University of Art and Architecture and continued his studies in piano. During his education, he studied under well-known professors and earned his BFA in music.

Professional Career

Honiball Joseph has been teaching music since 1986. In 2002, he established The Beneil Music Academy and with his wife, Gohar Baghoomian, trained young musicians for thirteen years.

In 1999, he founded The “Messiah Ensemble” where he introduced the Iranian audience to a new style of performance and offered them a different experience. The Messiah Ensemble focuses on contemporary music through performing Pop, Rock, Gospel and Eastern music with the use of symphonic instruments and other orchestral forms.

Since his teen years, Honiball Joseph has had a passion for Christian music. Studying contemporary Christian music on both formal and conceptual content has made him unique in the way he works among many fellow Iranian artists. In 2007 and 2008, he held two Exhibitions and provided his audience with a new experience by mixing novel ideas in music with other fine arts. He has been on the board of directors of an online art competition, and currently is the administrator of an art website. Recently, he has expanded his efforts to the Eastern and Assyrian music, leading to the creation of new artistic pieces. In 2013, he performed an Assyrian fusion concert as well as arranging and recording the works.

Also, in 2013, he achieved a new approach by performing art in the form of music and painting improvisation. A duet improvisation of canvas and piano, called “Rangahang,” was performed at the Tehran Contemporary Museum of Arts, and was well received by the audience. In a sequel to this performance in modern and stylistic architectural environments, with collaboration of Yaser Khaseb (a prominent figure of Iran physical theatre), he performed “Tanahang,” a duet of the body and piano in the open auditorium of the “City Theatre” of Tehran. This work was in opposition with the ISIS genocide acts, and was hugely appreciated by the audience and critics both inside and outside the country. A recorded version of the performance was screened in academic and art centers worldwide.

Generating new ideas and innovating novel styles in music have always been inseparable aspects of Honiball’s artistic character through the years.

Teachers and inspirations

Since Honiball’s teen years, great artists such as Morteza Hannaneh and Hannibal Alkhas were his inspirations. He learned violin from Behrouz Vahidi Azar and Ebrahim Lotfi, piano from Raphael Minaskanian, Gagik Babayan and Delbar Hakimova, composition from Morteza Hannaneh and Sharif Lotfi.

Some of the other names who influenced Honiball’s artistic life are Thomas Christian David, Tengiz Shavlokashvili, Maksimilijan Cencic, Fereydoun Naseri, Mohsen Elhamian, Mostafa Kamal Pourtorab, Farhad Fakhreddini, Kambiz Roshanravan, Hasan Riahi And Ali Ashraf Aryanpour.