Role: Performer

GOR MKHITARIAN is widely known throughout Armenia as the lead guitarist for one of country’s best rock bands, Lav Eli. Mkhitarian launched his solo career in 2001 and has released six albums since. Being nominated for a total of eleven industry music awards, he makes fresh and compelling music that successfully fuses traditional Armenian music with both rock and folk idioms. In his music, Mkhitarian makes a case for writing the next chapter in Armenia’s rich musical history by updating the sound and feel of the classic Armenian folk song. But what has made Mkhitarian a favorite in Armenia is his uncanny ability to combine unique songwriting ability with stunning modern arrangements of Armenian folk music. Gor Mkhitarian gets down to basics by giving the listener meaningful lyrics, colorful arrangements, and melodic hooks that create warm and inspiring songs. In 2003 he moved to Los Angeles where drummer Andranik Harutyunyan, basist Varujan Hovakimyan, pianist Art Grigorian and guitarist Jay Dean joined the band. Stepping away from his previous acoustic-driven “signature”, with the new band he features remarkable musicianship and showcases a different approach to his songwriting. It’s Armenian music, as it has never been heard before.

Baritone.

Percussion.

Pianist.

Violinist.

Gevorg Gourgeni Dabaghyan, born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1965, is one of Armenia’s best living duduk players, and certainly the most accomplished of his generation. He has won many awards, including the grand prize at the international Eastern Traditional Instruments competition in 1990, and the grand prize in the Sayat Nova duduk competition in both 1991 and 1992. He began studying duduk after middle school at the Romanos Melikian Music Institute and from 1984 to 1989 attended the prestigious Komitas State Conservatory. He continued his post-graduate studies at the Conservatory under K. Avetisian until 1992. Dabaghyan has performed around the world in the past decade and recorded extensively. He is featured on more than 50 recordings in the Armenian National Radio archives and as a soloist on several movie soundtracks, including Atom Egoyan’s Ararat (2002) and the Iranian film Miss Maria (2001). The CDs Armenia Anthology, featuring the Shoghaken Ensemble, which Dabaghyan founded in 1991, and Miniatures, a collection of solo duduk repertoire, were released in the United States on the Traditional Crossroads label. Known for his melodic expressiveness, Dabaghyan has also greatly expanded the repertoire of Armenia’s archetypal folk instrument. He was the first to play Armenian church music on the duduk and the first to use a traditional Armenian instrument to accompany new symphonic and choral works by contemporary Armenian composers, including Vache Sharafyan’s The Morning Scent of the Acacia’s Song, which Dabaghyan performed along with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project chamber ensemble throughout Europe and the US. Other notable performances with Shoghaken include concerts at Theatre De La Ville in Paris, France. the ‘White Nights’ festival in St. Petersburg and the Rudolstadt Festival in Rudolstadt, Germany. A much sought-after collaborator, Dabaghyan has also performed recently in concerts with the violinist Gidon Kremer, conductor Yuri Bashmet and the jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek.