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Nebu Issabey - 1936        By Arbella Issabey

Late romantic, compositional media, orchestral, piano, choral, opera, and songs...These are the various styles of Maestro Nebu Joel Issabey, Assyrian composer born in Tabriz, Iran to Harriet and Joel Issabey. Nebu's father was a native of Urmie and a graduate of Sorbonne University in France. But it was Nebu's mother, a graduate of the American College in Tehran, who instilled the first tastes of music in Nebu. It was at age four that his mother began teaching him the violin and in the next few years he taught himself the piano.

With the foundation set by his mother and his innate talent, Nebu began studying with the great Italian violin virtuoso, Luigi Pazannari, and renowned French violinist, Tina Montofel. After 12 years of studying with Pazannari and Montofel, Nebu made his debut at the age of 26 and gave many violin recitals, playing pieces from such composers as Beethoven, Brahms, and Sibeleus, among many others.

In 1955, Nebu went to Louzanne, Switzerland to begin his studies in conducting under the great conductor, Ernest Ansermet. In 1958, Nebu returned to Iran and organized the first Assyrian choir in Teheran, named the Nineveh Choir. At one time, the choir had reached nearly 100 members but during their most successful years, the choir consisted of 30 members.

From 1955 to 1967, the Nineveh Choir gave many choral concerts in Abadon, Tehran, and Ahwaz, performing such well-known pieces as Bach's Motet No. 3, Handel's Messiah and Gabriel Foure's Requiem, as well as Nebu's own nationalistic and romantic works.

It was these aforementioned well-known works by western composers that earned Nebu and the Nineveh Choir great recognition by the Iranian Fine Arts Council. In 1966, the Institute chose the Nineveh Choir as the leading Choral Group in the country and were invited to perform for the Shah of Iran in the Imperial Palace.

During the busy but successful years of the Nineveh Choir, Nebu still found time to devote to his nation and its Christian people. In 1961, Nebu organized choirs for both the Assyrian Church of the East and the Assyrian Catholic churches.

In 1967 Nebu returned to Europe and entered the Music Academy of Cologne, Germany for six years. Among his many professors was the famous modern composer in all of Northern Europe, Joachim Blume, professor of piano and music theory, and Kaufhold, professor of orchestration. Nebu was also influenced by Carl Orff, the great composer of Carmina Burana, as well as Boris Blacher, professor of modern composition at the Berlin Academy.

While in Europe, Nebu was known for his use of old modes and free disonance and performed his own works at the Walraf Richard Museum in Cologne, including modern Assyrian as well as some Iranian music. His works were also performed on German radio and television. Later, Nebu performed in the Cologne Academy of Music and was awarded a medal by the Academy for his short compostions for oboe and piano. Nebu was also awarded the Medal of Carnval for his highly acclaimed composition written especially for a male choir and was performed during the Cologne Carnival.

In 1973, he left Cologne, Germany with his wife and daughter and was destined for Chicago, Illinois where again, he reestablished the Nineveh Choir in the same year with both old and new members. They gave quite a few concerts in various areas of Chicago and performed many of Nebu's pieces, notably, an aria from his opera, Semirames.

A year later, his younger daughter, Nineveh was born and a few years later, Nebu was reunited with his son Tiglat, who made it to the United States after a perilous trip from revolutionary Iran.

Nebu established the Schubert Northside Choir in 1978, which consisted of various neighbors from all walks of life. This choir had become a significant part of the local community of Sauganash, in Chicago and was written in several local papers and newsletters for their various performances throughout Chicago. It was for his several years of community work and cultural awareness, both for Assyrians and Americans, that Nebu was chosen as one of the twelve outstanding US citizens in 1979.

After spreading music in the Assyrian and American cultures of Chicago and looking for new opportunities to build the awareness of Assyrian and Western classical music, he and his family moved to California in 1985. During the first few years, Nebu was busy writing new compositions as well as bringing his youngest daughter, Nineveh, to the stage as a concert pianist. In 1987, Nineveh made her debut at the age of 13 with pieces by such composers as Chopin, Bach, Mozart and Schubert. Nebu's oldest daughter, Arbella, having made her debut at the age of 13 in Chicago as a concert blockflutist (recorder), was also giving recitals, many with her sister. Nebu's son Tiglat, a very talented musician, studied briefly with his father and stayed in Chicago to study music at the university.

In 1995, Nebu was yearning for another choir and again, reestablished the Nineveh Choir with some old but mostly new members. Their first concert was in 1996 in San Jose and later in Los Angeles. Most recently, the Nineveh Choir performed in December of 1997, performing many of Nebu's nationalist works, such as Roomrama, the Assyrian National Anthem, an aria from Act III of Gilgamesh, Hail to Gilgamesh. But the Nineveh Choir was especially acclaimed for their performance of Lacrymosa (Crying), a piece from Nebu's Requiem.

Among all his passionate and busy years of music, Nebu was always an advocate of good health through sound diet and sports. While in his native Iran, he competed actively in soccer and table tennis tournaments, having won many table tennis championships, as well as being an accomplished bodybuilder. But his sport interests did not stop there, as he became bicycle racing champion, placing first place in the 50k and 250k races several times in his native Iran. His most significant, if not most dangerous feat, was as an accomplished mountain climber, having climbed the Alborz and Alvand, among others, and finally the Damavand Volcano (third highest in the world).

Currently, Nebu and his wife reside in San Jose, where he continues to build the awareness of Assyrian and Western classical music through his teaching of violin and piano, as well as through the direction of the Nineveh Choir.


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updated June 4, 1998

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