Chronological / Works in Progress / ​Musical Documentary / Solo / Small Ensemble / Large Ensemble / Opera, Voice, Chorus / Orchestra / Theater and Dance / Fixed Media / Film / Video Library 

Expand on the right of each work for available listening, viewing, and program notes.
Published scores are available through Schott's PSNY. For unpublished scores, email [email protected]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'

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'

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'

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.

Groung [Crane] (2014)
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.
​

Mary Kouyoumdjian · Groung (Perf. by Buffalo String Works)

Tagh [Diary] of an Immigrant (2013)
Commissioned by Ensemble Oktuplus
Available as String ORchestra arrangement / 4'

An imagined journal entry by a hope-filled someone hungrily pushing towards immigration who finds themselves in strange and bittersweet stillness once that immigration is achieved. The Armenian word "tagh" translates to "diary."
​

Mary Kouyoumdjian · Tagh [Diary] Of An Immigrant

With Heart (2008)
Written for The Bratislava Orchestra
orchestra / 4'

Prelude to an imaginary film.