politically fearless” terrifyingly dark” emotionally wracking” dives beneath surface musicality to find humanity” Intensely moving, boldly beautiful, this could be the future of a new kind of documentary” |
News
PAPER PIANOS/ commission by Alarm Will Sound & EMPAC
February 25, 2023 Paper Pianos is an evening-length multimedia work exploring the dislocation, longing, and optimism of refugees. The piece combines narratives from four refugees and resettlement workers: the Afghan pianist Milad Yousufi, Getachew Bashir (Ethiopia), Hani Ali (Somalia), and Akil Aljaysh (Iraq). Recordings of the protagonists from interviews conducted by creators Mary Kouyoumdjian (composer) and Nigel Maister (text and staging) are incorporated with the intricate hand-drawn animations of visual artist Kervork Mourad to vividly depict the dramatic emotional landscape of displacement and resettlement experienced by refugees throughout the world.
ADORATION/ commission by Beth Morrison Projects & OPERA America
Kouyoumdjian wins OPERA America commissioning grant to create an opera adaptation of filmmaker Atom Egoyan's film Adoration with Beth Morrison Projects, and librettist Royce Vavrek. An adaptation of Atom Egoyan’s film of the same name, ADORATION follows Simon, an orphaned high school student. As part of a dramatic writing exercise, Simon’s teacher encourages him to appropriate details from a historical terrorist attack as an event perpetrated by his parents. When his story goes viral, Simon uses the hysteria within his community and on the internet to highlight the challenges of intolerance and racism in our society. The fictional and actual circumstances of the loss of Simon’s family are revealed in fragments, only fitting together with the final revelation that the prejudices of Simon’s maternal grandfather led to his parents’ deaths. 
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC/ commission for "Project 19" POSTPONED
Sound ON: Be Prepared! Sound and stimulation are set to “on” at this new-music series at The Appel Room, overlooking Central Park. The second season begins with Philharmonic musicians performing music for prepared instruments, including in World Premieres by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Melinda Wagner, commissioned by the Philharmonic as part of Project 19, and works from the 20th and 21st centuries — in a concert hosted and curated by Nadia Sirota, Creative Partner. |
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METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART / Mary Kouyoumdjian and Atom Egoyan's They Will Take My Island
Ongoing
The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissions and presents the digital world premiere of Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian and Oscar-nominated Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's MetLiveArts commission, They Will Take My Island (2020), a highly personal 30-minute video with performances by the JACK and Silvana string quartets.
They Will Take My Island is a collaboration between Kouyoumdjian and Egoyan over their mutual admiration of the Armenian painter Arshile Gorky, who has been highly influential to their work, and is a musical documentary hybrid infused with themes of family and immigration. The work integrates audio and film footage from Egoyan's Ararat, a film that explores the life of Arshile Gorky in the context of the Armenian Genocide and modern life, and A Portrait of Arshile, a film Egoyan and his wife Arsinée Khanjian made in dedication to their son, named after the painter.
The work integrates: (1) audio and film footage from Egoyan’s films Ararat, a film that explores the life of Arshile Gorky in the context of the Armenian genocide and modern life, and A Portrait of Arshile, a film Egoyan and Arsinée Khanjian made in dedication to their son, named after the painter; (2) interviews conducted and recorded by the myself with art historians and family of Gorky’s (Saskia Spender, granddaughter of Arshile Gorky and President of the Arshile Gorky Foundation; Parker Field, Managing Director of the Arshile Gorky Foundation; and Michael Taylor, Chief Curator of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts). Score performed by JACK and Silvana Quartets and mixed by Jascha Narveson.
Commissioned by the Live Arts Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and premiered by The Met on January 26, 2021
Ongoing
The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissions and presents the digital world premiere of Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian and Oscar-nominated Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's MetLiveArts commission, They Will Take My Island (2020), a highly personal 30-minute video with performances by the JACK and Silvana string quartets.
They Will Take My Island is a collaboration between Kouyoumdjian and Egoyan over their mutual admiration of the Armenian painter Arshile Gorky, who has been highly influential to their work, and is a musical documentary hybrid infused with themes of family and immigration. The work integrates audio and film footage from Egoyan's Ararat, a film that explores the life of Arshile Gorky in the context of the Armenian Genocide and modern life, and A Portrait of Arshile, a film Egoyan and his wife Arsinée Khanjian made in dedication to their son, named after the painter.
The work integrates: (1) audio and film footage from Egoyan’s films Ararat, a film that explores the life of Arshile Gorky in the context of the Armenian genocide and modern life, and A Portrait of Arshile, a film Egoyan and Arsinée Khanjian made in dedication to their son, named after the painter; (2) interviews conducted and recorded by the myself with art historians and family of Gorky’s (Saskia Spender, granddaughter of Arshile Gorky and President of the Arshile Gorky Foundation; Parker Field, Managing Director of the Arshile Gorky Foundation; and Michael Taylor, Chief Curator of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts). Score performed by JACK and Silvana Quartets and mixed by Jascha Narveson.
Commissioned by the Live Arts Department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and premiered by The Met on January 26, 2021
JEFF ANDERLE, LA JOLLA SYMPHONY, & CONDUCTOR STEVEN SCHICK/ Bass clarinet Concerto February 11-12, 2023 Steven Schick conducts bass clarinetist Jeff Anderle and the La Jolla symphony in a performance of Walking with Ghosts, commissioned by Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, One Found Sound, and Steven and Brenda Schick. Walking with Ghosts is a reflection on the people, experiences, and histories that follow us throughout our lives––whether we walk with their support or carry the burden of their weight. |
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY/ presents WATER AND DUST with violinist Helen Kim and Post:ballet ongoing
Water and Dust pulls its inspiration from author and journalist Mark Arax's book The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California, which was recommended by dear friend Samuel Adams upon discovering our shared upbringing in the Bay Area. Arax investigates the water crisis and interweaves his family's narrative as Armenian immigrants to California – Water and Dust draws from personal memories of driving the dry stretches of farmland on Highway 5 with my own Armenian family's relocation to the state. Special thanks to collaborators Post:Ballet, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially to the extraordinary violinist Helen Kim, who so thoughtfully gives this piece its grit and flow. |
TIME MAGAZINE/ interview
TIME Magazine interviews Mary Kouyoumdjian, along with human rights activist, Simon Maghakyan, for journalist Madeline Roache's article "What Biden's Recognition of Armenian Genocide Means to Armenian-Americans." |
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER / Composers in Focus: Mary Kouyoumdjian
Ongoing The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents Composers in Focus: Mary Kouyoumdjian, a performance of multimedia work to open myself, to scream in collaboration with projection artist Kevork Mourad. The work is a sonic portrait of the Romani painter and Holocaust survivor, Ceija Stojka, and will include an interview between Beth Helgeson and Kouyoumdjian. Available online. |
Featured Video
Walking with Ghosts, a bass clarinet concerto performed by soloist Jeff Anderle and democratic orchestra One Found Sound: a reflection on the people, experiences, and histories that follow us throughout our lives––whether we walk with their support or carry the burden of their weight.
Header photo by Desmond White