John J. Berberian (born October 9, 1941 Sivas) is an American musician known for his virtuosity on the oud, the Middle Eastern stringed instrument.

Early life

Berberian was born in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

as the son of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

family. His father, Yervant Berberian, was an accomplished oud player and an instrument maker. Oud masters of Armenian, Turkish, and Greek heritage frequented his family's home. John Berberian started his musical education learning the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, but by the age of 10 began imitating his father on the oud. At the age of 16, he had his first job as a musician, playing the oud in a band in

Whitinsville, Massachusetts Whitinsville is an unincorporated village within the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Whitinsville is a census-designated place (CDP) and its population was 6,750 at the 2020 census. Whitinsville is pronou ...

. "The Relationship: Hachig Kazarian and John Berberian", ''The Armenian Weekly'', September 19, 2014
Retrieved 1 June 2015

Education

He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

with a B.A. in economics, and received his MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. While a student, he performed regularly in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s. From the early 1960s, he recorded for a variety of labels including

Mainstream Records Mainstream Records is an American record company and independent record label founded by producer Bob Shad in 1964. Mainstream's early releases were reissues from Commodore Records. Its catalogue grew to include Bob Brookmeyer, Maynard Ferguson, ...

(his first label),

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, and

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

Career

He expanded beyond the ethnic music market in the mid to late 1960s, decades before "

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

" became fashionable, with a series of LPs which explored fusions between traditional Middle Eastern music, psychedelic rock and jazz. These included ''Expressions East'' (1964), ''Music of the Middle East'' (1966), and ''Middle Eastern Rock'' (1969) with guitarist

Joe Beck Joe Beck (July 29, 1945 – July 22, 2008) was an American jazz guitarist who was active for over 40 years. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Beck moved to Manhattan in his teens, playing six nights a week in a trio setting, which gave him an opp ...

. He also set up his own recording studio and record label, Olympia. Simultaneously with his career as a musician, he worked as a

purchasing agent Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary gr ...

in New York. He was awarded teaching grants as a musician by the

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts {{Short description, American arts agency in the state of Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of P ...

in 1996 and by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2004. He has performed worldwide for over 40 years. "John Berberian", ''Armenian Church''
Retrieved September 1, 2022

Personal life

He is a trustee of the Armenian Apostolic Church in

, and lives with his family in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Discography

* ''Expressions East'' (

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ...

, 1964) * ''Oud Artistry'' (Mainstream, 1965) * ''Music of the Middle East'' (

, 1966) * ''Middle Eastern Rock'' (

, 1969) * ''A Mid Eastern Odyssey'' (Olympia, 1973) * ''Echoes of Armenia'' (Olympia, 1976) * ''The Dance Album'' (Olympia, 1978)

Accompaniment

*With

Rosko Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single " Love Is A Drug" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, an ...

, ''Music And Gibran (A Contemporary Interpretation)'' (Verve Forecast, 1968) (musical accompaniment)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berberian, John Living people 1941 births American oud players Columbia College (New York) alumni Harvard Business School alumni American people of Armenian descent People from Sivas Armenian oud players