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PLAYING FOR HER MOTHER
Alyson Sena , Reporter
Palisadian-Post, CA
May 11 2006
For classical concert pianist Ritta Bardakjian, playing piano is a
gift her parents gave her when she was just a child growing up in
Kuwait in the 1970s. The gift originally came in the form of a piano
that her parents shipped from England, where they traveled frequently
on business.
"I sat at the piano whenever I felt lost, lonely or sad," says
Bardakjian, a Pacific Palisades resident who earned her Doctor of
Musical Arts degree from USC last May. The rich and soothing power
of music has inspired Bardakjian throughout her life, and became
particularly resonant last July, when her mother passed away.
"I wanted to do something in my mom's memory," says Bardakjian,
who organized a concert that will take place on May 20 at 7 p.m. at
Pepperdine University's Raitt Recital Hall. "I just know she would
want me to continue to practice and perform."
Bardakjian's program will include Beethoven's Opus 13 (Path'tique),
Chopin's Sonata No. 2 ("Funeral March") and Schumann's Symphonic
Etudes because her mother, Jackline, "adored Schumann."
Bardakjian, who is Armenian, grew up listening to Western as well as
Eastern music. She started playing piano when she was about 5 years
old and studied with a teacher from South America who was "very
focused and intense." As young Ritta developed her playing skills,
the teacher advised her mother to send her outside Kuwait where she
would have the opportunity to seriously pursue her talent.
So, when Bardakjian was 13, she went off to a boarding school in
Uppingham, outside London. Her choirmaster at the school encouraged
her to audition for a conservatory in London and, two years later,
she was training at the London School of Music, where William Lloyd
Webber (Andrew Lloyd Webber's father) was director.
Bardakjian received her music degree from the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver and made her Canadian debut in 1981, performing
Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. In 1983, at age 20, she got the
opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall because the Armenian Ladies' Guild
was looking for Armenian talent and chose her to perform at an event.
She says she wasn't nervous because "when you're young, you're more
gutsy. Egos don't play as big a role." It was a thrilling experience
just knowing she was "touching the keys the greats have touched."
Bardakjian was accepted to The Julliard School and the Paris
Conservatory on scholarships but declined them both to study with
Hungarian pianist Georgy Sebok at the University of Indiana while
working towards her master's degree in music.
Sebok "taught me that I had to use the piano as an instrument but
not battle with it," says Bardakjian, who has also studied with other
renowned artists such as Polish pianist Marek Jablonski and American
pianist Leon Fleischer and Kevin Fitz-Gerald.
Currently, Bardakjian teaches piano to students as young as 5,
though she says that children at that age have to be "exceptional"
in their skills. Bardakjian has a 10-year-old daughter, Angelica,
who studies piano and ballet.
To inquire about lessons with Bardakjian, contact: 573-9622. For
tickets to the Pepperdine concert, contact: 506-4522.
Alyson Sena , Reporter
Palisadian-Post, CA
May 11 2006
For classical concert pianist Ritta Bardakjian, playing piano is a
gift her parents gave her when she was just a child growing up in
Kuwait in the 1970s. The gift originally came in the form of a piano
that her parents shipped from England, where they traveled frequently
on business.
"I sat at the piano whenever I felt lost, lonely or sad," says
Bardakjian, a Pacific Palisades resident who earned her Doctor of
Musical Arts degree from USC last May. The rich and soothing power
of music has inspired Bardakjian throughout her life, and became
particularly resonant last July, when her mother passed away.
"I wanted to do something in my mom's memory," says Bardakjian,
who organized a concert that will take place on May 20 at 7 p.m. at
Pepperdine University's Raitt Recital Hall. "I just know she would
want me to continue to practice and perform."
Bardakjian's program will include Beethoven's Opus 13 (Path'tique),
Chopin's Sonata No. 2 ("Funeral March") and Schumann's Symphonic
Etudes because her mother, Jackline, "adored Schumann."
Bardakjian, who is Armenian, grew up listening to Western as well as
Eastern music. She started playing piano when she was about 5 years
old and studied with a teacher from South America who was "very
focused and intense." As young Ritta developed her playing skills,
the teacher advised her mother to send her outside Kuwait where she
would have the opportunity to seriously pursue her talent.
So, when Bardakjian was 13, she went off to a boarding school in
Uppingham, outside London. Her choirmaster at the school encouraged
her to audition for a conservatory in London and, two years later,
she was training at the London School of Music, where William Lloyd
Webber (Andrew Lloyd Webber's father) was director.
Bardakjian received her music degree from the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver and made her Canadian debut in 1981, performing
Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. In 1983, at age 20, she got the
opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall because the Armenian Ladies' Guild
was looking for Armenian talent and chose her to perform at an event.
She says she wasn't nervous because "when you're young, you're more
gutsy. Egos don't play as big a role." It was a thrilling experience
just knowing she was "touching the keys the greats have touched."
Bardakjian was accepted to The Julliard School and the Paris
Conservatory on scholarships but declined them both to study with
Hungarian pianist Georgy Sebok at the University of Indiana while
working towards her master's degree in music.
Sebok "taught me that I had to use the piano as an instrument but
not battle with it," says Bardakjian, who has also studied with other
renowned artists such as Polish pianist Marek Jablonski and American
pianist Leon Fleischer and Kevin Fitz-Gerald.
Currently, Bardakjian teaches piano to students as young as 5,
though she says that children at that age have to be "exceptional"
in their skills. Bardakjian has a 10-year-old daughter, Angelica,
who studies piano and ballet.
To inquire about lessons with Bardakjian, contact: 573-9622. For
tickets to the Pepperdine concert, contact: 506-4522.