politically fearless” terrifyingly dark” her style is never far from profound rapture” 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, the Pulitzer Prize finalist, evening-length staged music-documentary work co-created by GRAMMY®-nominated Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian and South African-American director and writer Nigel Maister, will receive its world premiere recording, to be released digitally by Cantaloupe Music on Friday, August 7, 2026. Performed by the GRAMMY® Award-winning ensemble Alarm Will Sound, the work speaks eloquently and evocatively to this moment, hauntingly exploring the journeys and obstacles refugees confront as they uproot lives and livelihoods, families and friendships, in search of safer harbors. The work examines dislocation, longing, and optimism, both from the perspective of refugees themselves and from those who provide services to them. Artist proceeds from the album will be donated to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides support to refugees.
Pulitzer Finalist in Music/ Paper Pianos with Alarm Will Sound, Nigel Maister, & Kevork Mourad
Staged music-documentary Paper Pianos is a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music. 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. Next performance: May 10 at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center; College Park, MD; Performed by Alarm Will Sound |
WITNESS / Debut Album Release with Kronos Quartet
WITNESS, a new portrait album of works in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet. WITNESS is out on CD, vinyl and streaming on Phenotypic Recordings. The works featured on Kouyoumdjian’s first portrait album exemplify her use of the arts as an amplifier of expression, integrating testimonies from resilient individuals of the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, field recordings of place, and folk recordings of the early 20th century to invite empathy around social and political conflict. “This collection is an open letter to the tragic hymn of transmitted trauma and the possibility of art and magnificently gifted artists to help create new life.” – Filmmaker Atom Egoyan Cover artwork and design by Armenian-Canadian photographer Osheen Harruthoonyan. Phenotypic Recordings will donate its streaming proceeds from this album to Kooyrigs and the Lebanese Red Cross to support the Armenian and Lebanese communities. Featuring recordings of Bombs of Beirut, Silent Cranes, Groung [Crane], and I Haven’t the Words. |
Adoration, created with librettist Royce Vavrek, has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Opera Recording!
Adoration is a world premiere live recording of an electroacoustic chamber opera by composer Mary Kouyoumdjian and librettist Royce Vavrek in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects. Adapted from the film by the same name by Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (The Sweethereafter, Exotica), Adoration follows a high school student whose fictional story about a terrorist plot goes viral, unpacking how grief, racism, and media distortion collide to obscure the truth. Conducted by Alan Pierson and recorded/mixed by Daniel Neumann, the album cast features Miriam Khalil, Omar Najmi, David Adam Moore, Naomi Louisa O’Connell, Marc Kudisch, and GRAMMY Award winner Karim Sulayman, alongside the Silvana Quartet and GRAMMY-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street. |
Featured Video
KRONOS QUARTET/ SILENT CRANES, video by Laurie Olinder, from the album WITNESS
April 24, 2015 marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, a tragic event that led to the mass extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. While over 20 countries have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, the United States only recognized it as recently as 2021, and modern-day Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide, threatening consequences to those who push the topic within its borders. Even now, this historic event continues to be just as unresolved as it was before. As an Armenian-American composer who values freedom of speech and whose family fled the genocide, I feel this is an essential time to remember those who were lost, while continuing a dialogue about what happened and how we can prevent further genocides from happening in the future. The prerecorded backing track includes testimonies by genocide survivors, recordings from the genocide era of Armenian folk songs, and a poem from investigative journalist David Barsamian in response to the question ‘Why is it important to talk about the Armenian Genocide 100 years later?’
April 24, 2015 marked the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, a tragic event that led to the mass extermination of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. While over 20 countries have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, the United States only recognized it as recently as 2021, and modern-day Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide, threatening consequences to those who push the topic within its borders. Even now, this historic event continues to be just as unresolved as it was before. As an Armenian-American composer who values freedom of speech and whose family fled the genocide, I feel this is an essential time to remember those who were lost, while continuing a dialogue about what happened and how we can prevent further genocides from happening in the future. The prerecorded backing track includes testimonies by genocide survivors, recordings from the genocide era of Armenian folk songs, and a poem from investigative journalist David Barsamian in response to the question ‘Why is it important to talk about the Armenian Genocide 100 years later?’
Header photo by Desmond White