"Competitions are for horses, not artists" -Bela Bartok
CLASSICAL
As a classical pianist, I perform primarily 20th century music, and have
been involved in many premieres of composers in the Boston area and
beyond. I am particularly interested in the music of composers from Eastern Europe, such as Mansurian, Part, Kancheli, Gubaidulina, Ustvolskaya, Sharafyan, among others.
During the last few years, I have performed at various venues in Boston,
such as Jordan Hall (New England Conservatory), Seully Hall(Boston Conservatory), and Paine Hall (Harvard University). My teachers in Boston have been Gabriel Chodos (chair, NEC piano dept.)
and Jonathan Bass (faculty member at The Boston Conservatory).
IMPROVISATION
I am an avid improvisor. There is something very unique about musical ideas taking shape without the arduous planning that occurs during composition. I have given numerous solo improvisation performances, and enjoy improvising in group settings frequently.
I am a member of New England Skyscraper, a Butch Morris project.
I am the founder and musical director of The Palimpsest Ensemble, an improvisational chamber group, which meets annually with varying personnel. We will hopefully release a CD in the near future.
MICROTONES
I have had the pleasure of participating in the American Festival of Microtonal Music in New York on numerous occasions, thanks mostly to my friend and tuning guru Paul Erlich. Our collaborative microtonal composition in 22-tone equal temperament was featured on WNYC Radio's New Sounds program. More information on microtonality at a later time...
ARMENIAN MUSIC
In 2007 I founded a group called Musaner. We perform original compositions as well as my arrangements of Armenian folk music.
During the past two years I performed in Armenia as pat of Arthur Meschian 's band.
I am a member of the folk-jazz band Lusin.
In 2006 I released a CD entitled The Komitas Project.