AGBU Arts presents Musical Tapestry in Motion

Pierre Petit wrote in Le Figaro: “At the age of thirteen, Diana Gabrielyan shows overwhelming presence, passion, and sense of style.”

Ivan Hewett published in BBC Music Magazine, “Throughout she displays a clear, delicate touch… Gabrielyan brings out the varied colors of this music.”

Diana was born in Yerevan, Armenia. She began musical studies in her very early years. The love for the music transferred to Diana from her mother, violinist Nelli Hakobyan, who was her first teacher of violin and piano, and who remains a constant source of inspiration, guiding her toward discovery beyond the bounds of imagination, and into the profound depths of musical expression. The adoration for music inspired Diana to hold her first public concert at the age of five at the House Museum of Aram Khachaturian. In Yerevan, she studied at the highly competitive and selective Tchaikovsky Music School for Children Prodigy. At the age of nine, she performed her first solo recital in the House Museum of Aram Khachaturian.

She is a prize-winner in more than thirty (30) prestigious national and international piano competitions in Europe, the United States, and Armenia, eighteen(18) of which are First prizes. Among the most important international awards are worthy to mention the Gramsci Prize, the Rovere d'Oro Prize, the Rospigliosi Prize in Italy, and the "F. Chopin - Hartford” Prize.

She has been published in more than 30 professional, trade, and major media outlets, with hundreds of additional mentions on informal online platforms. Among which BBC Music Magazine, Le Figaro, Cronache del Mezzogiorno, Il Terreno, La Nazione, Gramophone, La Provincia, and many others. She holds ongoing roles of jury and judge in the Odradek Records. Moreover, She is a distinguished member of a number of prestigious music organizations requiring outstanding achievement of their members.

On the occasion of the “Great Jubilee” in 2000, she performed numerous concerts, including one at the historical "Palazzo Ruspoli" in Rome, which was broadcast on Vatican Radio. Since then, until today, many of her recordings have been aired during the "Diapason" program on Vatican Radio.

In 2005, celebrating both the exhibition of St. Gregory the Illuminator statue at the Vatican and the 800th anniversary of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, she performed in the Basilica of Saint Nicolas of Tolentino and was awarded an Artist Medal by S. B. Nerses Bedros XIX, Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia.

In April 2014, her 1st CD was released by the Odredek Records Label, with the music of Strawinsky, Schostakovich, Babadjanyan, and Mansuryan.

She graduated brilliantly from the “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory of Music in Rome, both in Classical Piano and in Chamber Music, and from the prestigious International Piano Academy “Incoltri col Maestro” in Imola, Italy.

Her repertoire covers a wide range of works from the Baroque era to the contemporary. She performs extensively, participating in various festivals and concert series, performing Solo recitals and with Orchestra in Europe and United States, in prominent theaters and halls such as the Rome Opera House, the Marcellus Theatre, the Aula Magna of the Sapienza University in Rome; the Malibran Theatre in Venice; the Siotto Concert Hall in Cagliari; the Gaber Auditorium in Milan; the Mozart Hall of Philharmonic Academy in Bologna; the Maison de l’Italie, the Unesco Salle de Cinema, the Citè des Arts in Paris; Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, in New York; Ward Hall and Hartke Teather in Washington DC, etc.

In 2017, in addition to her artistic activities, she established her own school of music in Rome, named “Musicali Sfumature.”

In 2021, Diana was admitted to the Master of Music program at the Manhattan School of Music, one of the most prestigious and renowned music institutions in the world, under the guidance of world-acclaimed pianist Maestro Alexander Moutouzkine. In the spring of 2023, she accomplished her degree at the Manhattan School of Music with brilliant grades.

She carried the responsibilities of being the Co-Artistic Director of the event “11th AGBU Performing Artists in Concert,” held at Carnegie Hall in October 2022. Meanwhile, she was one of
the artists.

She worked as a principal Collaborative Pianist in the Precollege Department of the Manhattan School of Music from January 2022 to December 2023.

Currently, Diana works as a piano Professor at Saint David’s School in Manhattan. Diana established her own "Musical Nuances Performing Arts" in August 2024.

She is a doctorate candidate at the prestigious Catholic University of America in Washington DC for extremely selective DMA studies in Piano Performance.

Ms. Gabrielyan’s unique expertise and accomplishments set her apart as a leading figure in the music world. Her academic career, marked by admissions to highly selective programs, top grades, and influential performances, speaks to her extraordinary talent and dedication.

Mushegh Avetisyan is a professional ballet artist from Yerevan, Armenia.

He is a prizewinner of numerous international ballet competitions, including 1st Place at the Vakhtang Chabukiani International Ballet Competition (Tbilisi, Georgia, 2019), Special Jury Prize at ARABESQUE 2020 (Perm, Russia), Bronze Medal at the World Ballet Competition 2025 (Orlando, Florida, USA), and Bronze Medal at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition 2026 (New York, NY, USA), among many others.

His professional career includes engagements as a Ballet Artist with the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (Yerevan, Armenia) and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre (Moscow, Russia, 2019–2021). He has performed extensively in the United States as a Guest Principal Artist with New American Youth Ballet, Westchester Ballet Company, and other major productions nationwide.

He received his professional training at the Yerevan State Choreographic College, Stepan Jrbashyan Music School, and the Voronezh Choreographic School.

In recognition of his artistic contributions, Mushegh Avetisyan was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the Mayor of New York City.

Lilit Hogtanian is a Los Angeles native who began her ballet training under Yuri Grigoriev. She graduated from Académie Princesse Grace in Monaco under the direction of Marika Bessobrazova and Luca Masla and went on to work for the Slovak National Theatre, Ballet Memphis, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Lilit was recognized as a Los Angeles Times “Face to Watch” following her performances as Clara in Los Angeles Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. She was a semi-finalist in Prix de Lausanne in 2008 and a 1st place winner at YAGP, Long Beach.

Her repertoire includes The Sylph in La Sylphide, Autumn Fairy in Michael Corder’s Cinderella, Diana & Acteon, as well as featured roles in Nacho Duato’s Coming Together, Matthew Neenan’s Darting Eyes, William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Square Dance, and Minkus Pas de Trois by George Balanchine.

Garri Hovsepyan, cellist, is a native of Yerevan, Armenia and an active orchestral and chamber musician performing internationally. He made his concerto debut at the age of eleven with the Sonora Philharmonic Orchestra and has since appeared as a soloist and ensemble musician throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

An accomplished chamber musician, Garri has collaborated with distinguished artists including James Dunham, Kathleen Winkler, Desmond Hoebig, Margaret Batjer, Brinton Smith, Cho-Liang Lin, and Jon Kimura Parker. His chamber work has also included performances and coachings with members of the Takács, Emerson, and Juilliard Quartets, as well as musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. He has been a fellow at leading festivals such as Aspen Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Tanglewood Institute of Music.

Garri holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music under Steven Doane and Bachelor of Arts in Business from the University of Rochester. He completed his Master of Music at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music with Desmond Hoebig.

He is currently a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and performs on a cello by Karel Vávra generously loaned by the Virtu Foundation.

Tamara is a multilingual actor and writer, proud AGBU Performing Arts Fellow, and Creative Armenia Network-member. Most recently, she starred in the NY Times' Critics Pick, Meet The Cartozians, by Talene Monahon, directed by David Cromer, produced by Second Stage. Other credits include: Off-Broadway: Daybreak (Beckett Theatre),
Your Alice (BAM), The Good Girl (59E59 Theatres) and Loose Canon (SoHo Playhouse). International: Your Alice (EdFringe), Black Garden (Théâtre de l’Opprimé, Paris).

Learn more at www.tamarasevunts.com

Photo Credit: Jessica Osber

Multiple woodwind instrumentalist Tyler Tashdjian, a native of East Providence, Rhode Island, holds the rank of Staff Sergeant in the United States Army Reserve, where he serves as principal flute and piccolo with the 395th Army Band. He performs regularly with the band’s woodwind quintet, concert band, clarinet quartet, and big band, demonstrating versatility across a wide range of woodwind instruments.

Tyler is the recipient of the Army Commendation Medal for his work in recruiting and distinguished performance on multiple woodwinds, as well as the Army Achievement Medal for excellence on flute and piccolo. An avid performer with a strong passion for chamber music, he has appeared at the Second Annual American Single Reed Summit, and most recently performed at ClarinetFest 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas, with the Clarinets of the 395th Army Band in a program highlighting composers of the Southwestern United States. As a professional doubler, he is proficient on flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon.

Previously, Tyler served as principal flute with the “Governor’s Own” 88th Army Band and was a two-time consecutive concerto competition winner on clarinet at the University of Rhode Island. He has performed extensively with big bands and remains active in pit orchestras throughout the Dallas– Fort Worth metroplex. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at East Texas A&M University, where he teaches multiple methods courses, including all five woodwind instruments, and World Music.

Additional honors include being named a 2023 recipient of the Colonel Finley R. Hamilton Outstanding Military Musician Award and selection as an AGBU Scholar, which afforded him the opportunity to study flute with Arman Abrahamian of the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra and duduk with Gevorg Dabaghyan in Yerevan during the summer of 2023.

Tyler earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Music from the University of Delaware. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Multiple Woodwind Performance at the University of North Texas, studying flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon. His dissertation was titled, “A Performance Guide to 21st Century Armenian Music for Woodwinds with Selected Works by Alisa Sargsyan, Garo Avessian, and Vache Sharafyan.”

He currently resides in Anna, Texas, where he maintains a private studio specializing in double reeds. His principal teachers include Mary Karen Clardy, Eileen Grycky, Jung Choi, Phillip Paglialonga, Christopher Nichols, Juliet Lai, Eric Nestler, Bill Jones, and Darrel Hale.

Seiran Tozlian is a 23-year-old Armenian pianist and composer. He has participated in numerous international festivals and is a prizewinner of many competitions, including “Grand Piano in Palace” (St. Petersburg),“Young Talents of Russia” (Moscow), “Firework of Talents” (St. Petersburg), the 18th International Competition “Valsesia Music Junior” (Varallo, Italy), and the XIV Chopin International Piano Competition (Hartford, USA).

Seiran graduated from the High School of Music of the Rostov State Conservatory named after S.V. Rachmaninov in Rostov-on-Don, where he studied with renowned professor Sergei Osipenko. During his studies, he appeared on many of Rostov’s most prestigious st ages, including the Rostov Philharmonic, the Great Hall of the Rostov Conservatory, and the Rostov Drama Theater.

Since September 2022, Seiran has been pursuing his studies at the Manhattan School of Music under acclaimed pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine. He is a recipient of both the Armenian General Benevolent Union Scholarship and the Dora Zaslavsky Endowed Piano Scholarship, awarded to students of exceptional artistry and promise.

In 2024, Seiran won the Koch Piano Concerto Competition and will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with orchestra at the Manhattan School of Music during the 2025–2026 season. In May 2024, he made his New York debut with the NY Session Orchestra, performing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1. He continues to maintain an active solo career, appearing regularly at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, and other prestigious venues in New York, including Merkin Hall. In 2025, he also served as a jury member of the Anselmo International Competition.

Russian-Armenian violinist Angelina Tozlyan has won prizes at several international competitions. She received Second Prize at the 2019 Concorso Internazionale Valsesia Musica Juniores in Italy and First Prize at the 2016 International Competition of Instrumental Music “National Treasure” in St. Petersburg. Raised in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Angelina participated in the XVII Delphic Youth Games—an international arts competition for young performing artists. She has attended the Kaufman Music Center’s SummerFest and the Texas Chamber Music Festival.

In New York City, Angelina studies at the Manhattan School of Music under Chloé Kiffer. She regularly performs in solo concerts and chamber music collaborations at MSM and with the New York Armenian music community. Angelina will make her Carnegie Hall recital debut in March 2026. Her violin was made for her in Cremona, Italy, by Armenian luthier Hrachya Galstyan.

Armenian soprano, Karina Vartanian, is a recent graduate from the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She graduated with the Josephine C. Whitford Award, a commencement honor recognizing exceptional achievement. This past summer, she was seen as a Young Artist, making her operatic role debut with the Winter Harbor Music Festival, performing the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She then participated in The Art Song Preservation Society of New York’s Bel Canto Masterclass with Maya Sypert and performed in their summer concert series. Ms. Vartanian will be returning to the Winter Harbor Music Festival this summer to debut the role of Blonde in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Her partial opera role credits include Frasquita (Carmen), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), The Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro).

Ms. Vartanian was invited to sing for the Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Aram I at the Rainbow Room in 2023 and was honored to perform again for His Holiness at The Garden City Hotel this past November. She recently joined Opera Night Long Island this past winter as a soloist for their Sunday Afternoon Concert Series and their Friday Evening Concerts. In April, she was invited to sing for the gathering of the 111th Annual Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in the heart of Times Square, where she sang the American National Anthem as well as works by Komitas and Hovhannisyan. Ms. Vartanian has been featured on the Armenian Creators (@armeniancreators) Instagram page in 2024, highlighting her work as an upcoming Armenian soprano.

In 2019, Ms. Vartanian was a solo finalist in the Armenian Youth Talent Competition, where she made her Carnegie Hall debut. Ms. Vartanian will be returning to Carnegie Hall this May, where she will be a soloist for the AGBU Arts Concert Series. She is a former recipient of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Arts Scholarship from 2023-2025. During her time at MSM, she served as the Chair of Communications for the Womxn’s Organization, where she helped launch the school’s first-ever Women’s History Month series and programmed the inaugural Women’s History Month Concert. She currently serves as a Board Member and Social Media Manager for The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island.

Instagram: @karinavartt