Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Apigian-Kessel: Tekeyan Presents Master Violinist Henrik Karapetyan

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Apigian-Kessel: Tekeyan Presents Master Violinist Henrik Karapetyan

    APIGIAN-KESSEL: TEKEYAN PRESENTS MASTER VIOLINIST HENRIK KARAPETYAN
    By Betty Apigian-Kessel

    http://www.armenianweekly.com/2010 /02/12/apigian-kessel-tekeyan-presents-master-viol inist-henrik-karapetyan/
    February 12, 2010

    He is only 28 but if his Nov. 19, dissertation recital is any evidence,
    master violinist Henrik Karapetyan's star is destined to rise to
    the heavens.

    Over 100 people attended the evening event held at the Bloomfield
    Township Library presented by the Metro Detroit area Tekeyan Cultural
    Association. Introduction was by Edmond Azadian with additional
    comments by Nora Azadian.

    Henrik is a DMA (doctor of musical arts) candidate in violin
    performance at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre,
    and Dance, the equivalent of a performance Ph.D. which he will receive
    next spring. He was accepted to do his doctoral studies in 2007 with
    full tuition and a part-time teaching appointment as a grad student
    instructor.

    The Michigan School of Music is rated as one of the best schools
    in the country, accepting only two to three violinists a year from
    scores of applicants. Being selected is an honor.

    Karapetyan is a Yerevan native and comes from a family of musicians.

    Locally, he is the nephew of Anahit Toomajan, wife of Prof. Dicran
    Toomajan, so he comes with an impressive pedigree. He speaks Armenian,
    Russian, French, and excellent English.

    He began his music lessons at the age of six at the Spendiarian
    Special Music School of Yerevan. In 1997, he entered the Komitas
    State Conservatory of Music in the class of distinguished professor S.

    Akhnazaryan.

    He performed as the conservatory's orchestra concertmaster during the
    premiere performance of J.S. Bach's "Matthew's Passions" in Armenia.

    He was a semi-finalist in an international competition held in France
    thereafter traveling through Europe as a member of the "Serenade"
    Chamber Orchestra.

    Karapetyan moved to the U.S. in 2001 as a graduate student, during
    which time he held the concertmaster's position with the Plymouth and
    International Symphony Orchestras. In 2005, he completed a recording
    project featuring violin-piano miniatures performed by himself and
    his wife Yevgenya Lavrovskaya.

    In 2004, Karapetyan joined the Michigan Opera Theatre as a section
    violinist. He teaches lessons and master classes, and is a clinician
    and freelancer in the Detroit area. As the violinist of the "Luminare"
    duo, he performs close to 100 shows annually together with his wife.

    His concert "Medieval Voices-Modern Reflections" consisted of
    modern music compositions inspired by the Armenian religious music
    tradition, including works by Sharafyan, Alan Hovhaness, Aghajanyan,
    and Baghdasaryan. Two world premieres were played at the concert,
    one featuring a piece by Karapetyan-the very exciting "The Birth
    of Vahakn"-and a piano trio by Daniel Thomas Davis commissioned for
    the occasion.

    Karapetyan gives his good, non-Armenian friend Davis (the composer
    of "Diary of Scattering") high marks as an outstanding composer of
    our time. Perhaps a first, Davis's "Scattering" was inspired by the
    Armenian religious tradition. His inspiration was the history of the
    Armenians-including the genocide and the resulting diaspora-evoking
    great emotion with his lovely composition. My conversation with Davis
    revealed he had a friendship with a Watertown, Mass. Armenian. That
    influence resulted in composing a magnificent tribute to Armenians
    everywhere.

    Credit must be give to Karapetyan. Amongst his ambitions is to bring
    Armenian music widely to non-Armenian audiences, accomplishing that
    by including non-Armenians in the process as performers and composers,
    as was done tonight.

    Karapetyan is in exceptional company with the likes of Komitas,
    Tahmizyan, Atayan, and Kooshnarian, all of whom consider Armenian
    religious music as the purest expression of true Armenian spirit
    and character. Appropriately, Karapetyan has a photo of himself with
    Komitas's statue, which stands in downtown Detroit on Jefferson Ave.

    For a year, the master violinist was the director of the choir at St.

    Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church of Dearborn.

    The future for Henrik Karapetyan? He sees himself comfortable in
    an academic environment of a college or university where he can
    simultaneously teach and perform. In his collaboration with Davis,
    Karapetyan says, "I have been lucky to have him in my project. My
    intention is to bring this to wider audiences and I hope to get other
    Armenian communities nationwide interested in it."

    Henrik and Yevgenya Karapetyan have a son and reside in Rochester. As
    if his agenda were not ambitious enough, his other interests
    include chess, reading, and writing. Not only is he a violinist of
    accomplishment, he is also a prize winner of the Armenian National
    Competition of Young Writers in 1996. He was been blessed with many
    talents.

    Armenian communities alert: If you want to avail youselves of Henrik
    Karapetyan's project and enlighten others about beautiful Armenian
    music, do yourselves a favor, contact him at [email protected].
Working...
X