Ara Guzelimian is an American academic and scholar who served as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

and

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

from 2006 to 2020. He is the artistic director of the

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

and continues at Juilliard as Special Advisor to the Office of the President.

Early life and education

Born in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Guzelimian graduated earned a degree in

music history Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history of ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Career

Guzelimian became Dean and Provost of The Juilliard School in 2006. Previously, he worked at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

as artistic advisor and senior director, from 1998 to 2006. During that time he played a key role in the launch of

Zankel Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by its n ...

in 2003 as well as hosting and producing the Making Music composer series there. He was on the 2000 International Chamber Music Encounter faculty at the

Jerusalem Music Centre The Jerusalem Music Centre is an institute for musical education in Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem. The centre offers programs, courses, and master classes.

led by

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

. Other music industry positions he has held in the past include: artistic administrator (

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

), artistic director (

, California), national radio broadcast producer and artistic administrator (

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

). He was appointed to by the artistic director of the artistic director of the 74th Ojai Music Festival from June 10 to 13, 2021.

Media

Guzelimian has contributed pieces to

Helsinki Festival The Helsinki Festival (in Finnish language, Finnish: Helsingin juhlaviikot, in Swedish language, Swedish: Helsingfors festspel) is the largest multi-arts festival in Finland. It is Finland's biggest cultural event in terms of visitors. In 2015, arou ...

(program book), IRCAM Center Journal,

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online magazine, online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Opera News ''Opera News'' was an American classical music magazine. It was published from 1936 to 2023 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild—a non-profit organization, located at Lincoln Center, that was founded to promote opera and support the Metropolitan ...

, Opera Quarterly, Record Geijutsu,

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

(program book), Symphony Magazine. He has also spoken on the Metropolitan Opera radio and

Saint Paul Sunday ''Saint Paul Sunday'' is a Peabody Award-winning weekly classical music radio program that aired from 1980 to 2007, with encore broadcasts airing through 2012. It was hosted by Bill McGlaughlin for its entire run. At its height, it was America ...

as a guest host. He edited ‘Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society.’

Recognition

In 2003, the French government presented Guzelimian with the ‘

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

’ title. According to Carnegie's executive and artistic director, Clive Gillinson, Guzelimian has “phenomenal expertise, experience and breadth of knowledge and somebody who’s obviously made an enormous contribution to Carnegie hall.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzelimian, Ara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Juilliard School faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni