Chronological / Works in Progress / Musical Documentary / Solo / Small Ensemble / Large Ensemble / Opera, Voice, Chorus / Orchestra / Theater and Dance / Fixed Media / Film / Video Library
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Published scores are available through Schott's PSNY. For unpublished scores, email [email protected]
Published scores are available through Schott's PSNY. For unpublished scores, email [email protected]
ANDOUNI (2024)
Commissioned by New York Philharmonic, Project 19
amplified chamber orchestra, AUDIO PLAYBACK, & PROJECTED PHOTOGRAPHY / 20'
Commissioned by New York Philharmonic, Project 19
amplified chamber orchestra, AUDIO PLAYBACK, & PROJECTED PHOTOGRAPHY / 20'
ANDOUNI (Homeless) is a music-documentary hybrid in collaboration with photojournalist Scout Tufankjian around the recent genocide of Armenians indigenous to Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. Scout’s photos of the current refugee crisis and precursors to it are complemented by interviews and field recordings taken by myself on a trip with Scout to Armenia in spring of 2023, as well as interviews and sounds contributed by activists on-the-ground in fall of 2023, during the ethnic cleansing and mass exodus of Artsakh-Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh into the Republic of Armenia. I have always admired Scout’s ability to invite the viewer of her photography into the more personal and human space of larger political conflict, both in the heaviness of tragedy and the joys resilient individuals find in order to push onward, and this space for empathy is urgently needed with the current events of Armenians.
Scout and I had originally intended to create a piece around the impact of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war––never could we have imagined that between that time and now that Armenians would experience a nearly year-long blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor, starving out Artsakh-Armenians and preventing them from medical access; the ethnic cleansing of all Armenians from the territory, with negligible international intervention; having their homeland of thousands of years become absorbed by another country; cultural heritage sites demarcated and destroyed; and the massive influx of refugees into Armenia, whose infrastructure had already been struggling. From the 1915 Armenian genocide to today’s, this is a community forcibly themed by erasure, but it is a resilient one. The voices in this work speak to that resilience.
Special thanks to all of the interviewees for their generosity in speaking the unspeakable, to my dear friend Scout for her unwavering commitment to sharing a community who will not be erased, the Children of Armenia Fund, and Teach for Armenia.
Interviewees & Speakers: Knar Abrahamyan, Haig Boyadjian, Shahen Araboghlian, fortune teller, high school graduates (contributed by Mary Kouyoumdjian); Gayane Malonyan, Nyree Abrahamian (contributed by Nyree Abrahamian and the Country of Dust podcast); Vera Khatchatyran (contributed by Scout Tufankjian and Taline Oundjian, translated by Taleen Babayan)
Photography by Scout Tufankjian | Field recordings from Armenia gathered and interviews edited by Mary Kouyoumdjian
To listen to an archival recording, please contact [email protected]
Scout and I had originally intended to create a piece around the impact of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war––never could we have imagined that between that time and now that Armenians would experience a nearly year-long blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor, starving out Artsakh-Armenians and preventing them from medical access; the ethnic cleansing of all Armenians from the territory, with negligible international intervention; having their homeland of thousands of years become absorbed by another country; cultural heritage sites demarcated and destroyed; and the massive influx of refugees into Armenia, whose infrastructure had already been struggling. From the 1915 Armenian genocide to today’s, this is a community forcibly themed by erasure, but it is a resilient one. The voices in this work speak to that resilience.
Special thanks to all of the interviewees for their generosity in speaking the unspeakable, to my dear friend Scout for her unwavering commitment to sharing a community who will not be erased, the Children of Armenia Fund, and Teach for Armenia.
Interviewees & Speakers: Knar Abrahamyan, Haig Boyadjian, Shahen Araboghlian, fortune teller, high school graduates (contributed by Mary Kouyoumdjian); Gayane Malonyan, Nyree Abrahamian (contributed by Nyree Abrahamian and the Country of Dust podcast); Vera Khatchatyran (contributed by Scout Tufankjian and Taline Oundjian, translated by Taleen Babayan)
Photography by Scout Tufankjian | Field recordings from Armenia gathered and interviews edited by Mary Kouyoumdjian
To listen to an archival recording, please contact [email protected]
WALKING WITH GHOSTS (2022)
Commissioned by ONE FOUND SOUND and MINNESOTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT BY STEVEN AND BRENDA SCHICK
Bass clarinet concerto for soloist and orchestra/ 15'
Commissioned by ONE FOUND SOUND and MINNESOTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT BY STEVEN AND BRENDA SCHICK
Bass clarinet concerto for soloist and orchestra/ 15'
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. This piece is dedicated to Jeff Anderle, whom I walk with in creativity and in friendship.
They Would Only Walk (2020)
Commissioned by Buffalo String Works
amplified string quintet, string orchestra, and audio playback/ 10'
Commissioned by Buffalo String Works
amplified string quintet, string orchestra, and audio playback/ 10'
They Would Only Walk is written for and in dedication to the community of Buffalo String Works. This piece was developed through a residency with BSW, an organization that provides string classes to children of refugee families in Buffalo, NY. Students and I worked together to workshop extended techniques and sounds that would evoke feelings of travel. Refugee families – both adults and children - generously volunteered to share their journeys to Buffalo and the meaning of music in their lives. Recorded interviews narrate this piece created for this extraordinary community.
Become Who I Am (2015)
Commission by Brooklyn Youth Chorus for BYC and Kronos Quartet
chorus (soprano/alto), string Orchestra expansion from string quartet, audio playback / 10'
Commission by Brooklyn Youth Chorus for BYC and Kronos Quartet
chorus (soprano/alto), string Orchestra expansion from string quartet, audio playback / 10'
There are many factors that can contribute to gender inequality in the workplace, from historical views to culturally imposed biases. I’m particularly interested in the idea that an individual’s level of confidence in their identity and abilities – or lack of confidence – can affect how they deal with gender barriers. Become Who I Am is comprised of interviews I recorded with members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who ranged from 13 to 17 years of age. Volunteers were asked to share what they were passionate about, when they felt most confident and/or insecure, to respond to a series of gender inequality statistics, and to brainstorm solutions to the disparity in numbers. Out of their responses, I constructed the libretto and prerecorded backing track.
TAGH [DIARY] OF AN IMMIGRANT (2014)
Commission by ENSEMBLE OKTOPLUS
STRING ORCHESTRA / 5'
Commission by ENSEMBLE OKTOPLUS
STRING ORCHESTRA / 5'
An imagined journal entry by an immigrant who finds themselves in a strange and bittersweet stillness once immigration has been achieved. The Armenian word, "tagh," translates to "diary."
Groung [Crane] (2014)
Commissioned by Kronos Quartet, arrangement
Available as amplified viola solo plus string orchestra / 4'
Commissioned by Kronos Quartet, arrangement
Available as amplified viola solo plus string orchestra / 4'
Inspired by a recording from 1916 of Zabelle Panosian, a relatively unknown singer who had recently moved to Harlem, NY, of a version of the Armenian folk song "Groung (Crane)." In this song, the singer calls out to a crane, a common character in Armenian folklore and poetry, pleading for news from their country. Panosian's voice seems to carry the burden of her entire homeland with a beautiful and soulful interpretation of the melody, and in my own arrangement, the ensemble is asked to emulate her unique interpretation of the song. At the time Panosian recorded this piece in the States, the Armenians were going through genocide in Ottoman Turkey, and I find the timing of her recording to bring even more meaning to the music.
With Heart (2008)
Written for The Bratislava Orchestra
orchestra / 4'
Written for The Bratislava Orchestra
orchestra / 4'
Prelude to an imaginary film.