AGBU NYSEC Presents 16 Rising Stars in Sept. 20 Carnegie Hall Concert: Proceeds to Benefit AGBU Scholarships for Performing Arts Students

As previously reported, the AGBU New York Special Events Committee (NYSEC) will present "A Debut Concert" featuring 16 AGBU Scholarship Program Performing Arts grant recipients at Weill Recital Hall of New York's famed Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, September 20, 2008.

In addition to works by Dvorak, Mozart, Faure, Guastavino, Brahms, Laginha, Joplin, Berberian, Babadjanian and Godoian, the program features the U.S. premieres of original compositions by two of the performing artists: Rhapsody for string quartet by Kevork Andonian and Dance of Spring by Tigran Martikyan.

For concert tickets call Carnegie Box Office at 212.247.7800 or visit carnegiehall.org.

Biographical highlights of the performing artists are presented below in alphabetical order.

Hayk Arsenyan (piano)

A pianist and composer, Hayk Arsenyan was born in Yerevan, studied piano at Ecole Normal de Paris and received his master's degree from the Russian Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow. In 2007, he received a full-tuition scholarship for Performance Studies at Manhattan School of Music. He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation towards the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and is a professor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts in New York.

Kevork Andonian (composer)

Kevork Andonian is a composer, pianist and educator, originally from Ottawa, Canada, who is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in composition at UCLA, where he is also a Teaching Associate. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Carleton University. The recipient of many scholarships and awards, he was also awarded the Carleton University Medal in Music upon his graduation. In 2007, Andonian finished his Master of Music in Theory and Composition from the University of Ottawa, where he also taught as a part-time professor.

Aroussiak Baltaian (violin)

A prominent recitalist, soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, Aroussiak Baltaian holds degrees from the University of Southern California and the Guildhall School for Music and Drama. She is a Grand and top prize winner of numerous national and international competitions, including the MTNA Collegiate Composition (USA), the "Aram Khachaturyan" International Competition (USA), the "Rudolfo Lipizer Prize" International Competition (Italy), the "Maurice Warshaw Prize" Competition in Great Britain and the "Yaroslav Kotzian" International Violin Competition of the Czech Republic. She is also a member of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Sarkis Baltaian (piano)

Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, chamber musician, recording artist and pedagogue. Having made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999, he has performed extensively, both as recitalist and concerto soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. Baltaian attended the University of Southern California, where he received the Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. From 2002-2006, he served as teaching assistant at the University of Southern California and was also a member of the piano faculty at the California State University, Los Angeles, from 2005-2008. Baltaian is an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Raffi Dimoian (French horn)

Although having started his career studying classical piano, which he continues to play, Raffi Dimoian is better known as a French horn player. He holds several academic degrees, having studied Western, classical, jazz, West African Ewe and New Music performance at such institutions as Academy of Music and Dance, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and New York University (NYU). He is the recipient of the first full scholarship award granted to a foreign student in the history of CalArts, and the 2007 beneficiary of the Billy Joel scholarship of academic excellence. He is also a founder of Groong, the ensemble for traditional Armenian troubadour music, and Balkanto, the Balkan brass band. Dimoian has been teaching brass instruments, piano and jazz theory/improvisation extensively and is currently an adjunct faculty member of NYU.

Ani Kalayjian (cello)

Ani Kalayjian has appeared in concert both as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada and Europe. She received her undergraduate education at Mannes College of Music, and then completed her master's degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. She recently won the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust competition in England, where she was also granted the Bohuslav Martinu Foundation Prize, and performed in Prague in November 2006. Ani has participated in many festivals, seminars, workshops and music sessions. Her passion for chamber music has led her to performances on the Mostly Music chamber music series in New Jersey, as well as a tour with Trio Nareg, with violinist Ani Kavafian and pianist Armen Guzelimian.

Lilit Kurdiyan (cello)

A native of Yerevan, Lilit Kurdiyan received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory. Following her relocation to the United States in 1998, she earned a second Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School of Music. In 2005, she joined the faculty at the School for Strings in New York, where she teaches music theory. Member and Assistant Artistic Coordinator of the eclectic HyeArt Ensemble, Lilit regularly joins her Armenian contemporaries in performances throughout the New York metropolitan area, the proceeds of which are frequently donated to various causes.

Tigran Martikyan (piano)

Tigran Martikyan's musical career began in his native Armenia. After graduating from the Tigran Chukajian Music School in 1988, he immigrated to the United States and took up jazz. In 1998, he earned his bachelor's degree in jazz studies from the Manhattan School of Music, where he continued his professional education and received a master's degree in music. Martikyan teaches, performs and composes music in New York City and abroad. Since 2001, he has been the resident accompanist to "We Dance," a children's ballet institute; in addition, he serves as the musical coordinator of the esteemed New York Film Synergy Group, founded by director/actor/producer Tom Lassu, in whose films he has worked as a pianist/actor.

Sofya Melikyan (piano)

A Yerevan native, Sofya studied at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, graduating with the Highest Honor Prize. Following a period of private instruction, she began post-graduate studies at L'Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, receiving the Diplome Superieure d'Execution. Currently residing in New York, Meliyan recently completed her Master of Music degree in piano performance at Manhattan School of Music of New York. She has received several prizes; toured throughout Europe and the US; appeared as a soloist with several orchestras; and appeared in solo recitals, chamber music and concerti performances in various festivals. In 2005, her piano duo was a winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition in Manhattan School of Music.

Lilian Solange Merdinian (mezzo-soprano)

Mezzo-soprano Solange Merdinian began her music studies at age 3 in her hometown of Cordoba, Argentina. In 2007, she graduated from The Juilliard School with a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice. Recently she has performance at a Carnegie Hall performance of the program "Piazza Navona," a soloist at Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra and Choral Union, and an alto soloist with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the Metropolitan Museum in the Bach Cantata Program. Merdinian has also performed extensively with the Juilliard School opera productions include Third Lady in "Die Zauberflote" and the role of Indiana Elliot in a production of "The Mother of Us All." She has attended diverse summer programs, including L'Academie Internationale d'Ete de Nice, the Chatauqua Institute, and the Aspen Opera Theater Center.

Aleksander Nazaryan (viola)

Nazaryan received a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2006 and is currently a first-year Master of Music student at the same school. He has played with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, the Chihuahua Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. He has held principal viola positions with the Las Vegas and Chautauqua Music Festival orchestras, and performed with the Juilliard School Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. In addition to numerous solo engagements, Nazaryan has also performed at the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Steinway Hall and the United Nations.

Vardan Ovsepian (piano)

Vardan Ovsepian is an Armenia-born pianist/composer and a Fresh Sound – New Talent recording artist. He studied at the Melikyan Music College and then entered Yerevan State Conservatory, majoring in Classical Composition. Subsequently, he was accepted to the Estonian Music Academy to study Contemporary Composition. In 1995, following his strong interest and passion for jazz and improvised music, Ovsepian moved to Finland to attend the Helsinki Jazz Conservatory. A few years later, he was awarded a scholarship to study piano performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since graduating from Berklee in 2000, Ovsepian has been teaching, as well as performing both solo and in groups. He is the founder of the Vardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble, whose aim is to interweave jazz improvisation with the traditions of European art music.

Cecee Pantikian (violin)

Cecee Pantikian has established herself as a respected performer often praised for her impressive combination of virtuoso technique and colorful musicality. In June 2003, she made her Carnegie Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium) debut, performing Khachaturian's "Violin Concerto" with the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York. She has also appeared as guest soloist of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra and the Musica Bella Orchestra. She is a winner of numerous prizes and awards, including the Waldo Mayo Memorial Award, the Competition for Young Musicians in Bulgaria, and the Kotzian International Violin Competition in the Czech Republic. Pantikian holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music. Currently she is a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

Hrant Parsamian (cello)

Born in Bulgaria, Hrant Parsamian started studying the cello under his mother's guidance. His first recital was at the age of six. Two years later, he made his debut as a soloist performing C.P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto. Parsamian holds bachelor degrees from The Hochschule for Music in Vienna and The Juilliard School, as well as a master's degree from the Yale School of Music. After finishing his fellowship with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, he moved to New York, where he joined the Haddonfield (NJ) Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal, as well as the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Kevork Parsamian (cello)

Parsamian, born in Sofia, Bulgaria, began his cello studies with his mother and then moved on to the Sofia Music School. After coming to the United States in 1995, he received his bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati and his master's degree at Indiana University, followed by Artist Diploma at Yale University School of Music. Parsamian has received many scholarships and prizes; he has been awarded full scholarships from several universities, and was granted an impressive award to study at the Aspen Music Festival in 1996. Parsamian has played with several orchestras in various parts of the US and he was a teaching assistant at both Indiana and Yale. He is on the faculty in the preparatory division of Manhattan School of Music and a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Karine Poghosyan (piano)

Karine Poghosyan has been described as an "extraordinary" and "larger than life" pianist, whose playing "goes to the heart of the music." She made her orchestral debut at 14, playing Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 1," and by the age of 23 she had already made her Carnegie Hall debut. She is the winner of several competitions, and the recipient of half a dozen scholarships. Poghosyan has appeared in quite a few recitals, as well as a soloist with numerous orchestras. She is also an active chamber musician, the winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition. In addition to her distinctions as a performer, Poghosyan also demonstrated excellence in various academic endeavors. She received her Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, from California State University, Northridge, and her master's and D.M.A. degrees at the Manhattan School of Music. Her doctoral thesis was "Aram Khachaturian for Piano."