Serouj Kradjian (born in 1973) is a Canadian Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning pianist and composer.

Early life and education

Born in 1973, at fourteen earned a scholarship to study in Vienna, and was gaining accolades by the age of seven. He later studied with Marietta Orlov at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's Faculty of Music, where he earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Piano Performance in 1994. He studied with

Einar Steen-Nökleberg Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mytholog ...

at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, receiving a Solo Performance degree in 2001.

Performances

Kradjian has appeared with the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Symphonies, Göttingen Symphony,

Russian National Orchestra The Russian National Orchestra () was founded in Moscow in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City and in Israel. History The RNO's first recording (1991 ...

, the Armenian Philharmonic and the Thailand Philharmonic under the baton of conductors such as

Bramwell Tovey Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer. Life and career Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as ...

Peter Oundjian Peter Haig Oundjian (born 21 December 1955) is a Canadian-American violinist and conductor. Early life Peter Oundjian was born in Toronto, Ontario, the third of five children of Haig Aram Oundjian and his wife Joan Bertrand (Sanderson) Oundjian. ...

Stéphane Denève Stéphane Denève (born 24 November 1971) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the New World Symphony. Biography Denève was born in Tourcoing, France, and graduated ...

, Eduard Topchjan, Gudni Emilsson and

Raffi Armenian Raffi Armenian, (born June 4, 1942) is a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. He directed the Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony orchestra for many years. Since 1999 he has been the director of Orchestral Studies at the University of ...

. Solo recitals, chamber music concerts and premieres of his compositions have taken Mr. Kradjian from all major Canadian cities, via the U.S – New York (

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 ...

), Boston ( Jordan Hall), San Francisco, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles – to European concert halls in London (

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

), Paris (Salle Cortot), Munich, Salzburg, Trondheim, Lausanne, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao, to the Far East in China and Japan and to Latin America (Mexico & Brazil). He has been invited to perform at festivals such as the Bergen Festival, Savannah Music Festival, Colmar Festival,

Luminato Festival The Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas, is an annual celebration of the arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, launched in 2007. In its first decade, Luminato presented over 3,000 performances featuring 11,000 artist ...

, Ottawa Chamberfest,

Rockport Music Rockport Music is a performing arts presenters, presenting organization in Rockport, Massachusetts, Rockport, Massachusetts, bringing music and other artistic programming in variety of genres to audiences in the greater Boston area and the Massac ...

, and the Festival Del Sole- Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy. As a collaborative artist, Kradjian has appeared in concert with violinists

Ara Malikian Ara Malikian (born 1968) is a Lebanese-born violinist of Armenian descent. He was educated in Germany and was later based in Spain. He has a wide repertoire and includes music from many cultures. He has played in over 40 countries and has won num ...

(a fellow Lebanese-Armenian), Cho-Liang Lin, Lara St. John, Chee-Yun and

Jonathan Crow Jonathan Crow is a prominent Canadian violinist. He has been the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's concertmaster beginning in 2011. From 2002 to 2006, he was concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM). Crow was born in Prince Geo ...

, soprano

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempo ...

, baritone

Russell Braun Russell Braun (born 19 July 1965) is a Canadian operatic lyric baritone and conductor (music), and Juno Award winner. Much sought-after as a soloist and for opera roles, Russell Braun performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg ...

, tenor

Michael Schade Michael Schade (born 23 January 1965) is a Canadian operatic tenor, who was born in Geneva and raised in Germany and Canada. He and his wife Dee McKee, and their youngest child live in Vienna, Austria; the rest of the family lives in Canada. ...

, violist

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She has spent her career in the U.S. and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. She i ...

, percussionist

Jamey Haddad Jamey George Haddad (born July 2, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American percussionist who works primarily in the fields of jazz and world music and specializes in hand drums. Biography Haddad is of Lebanese ancestry. From the age of four, he ...

, the Pacifica, New Orford, Cecilia String Quartets and Camerata Pacifica. His explorations of tango and flamenco music have led to the critically acclaimed recording project “Tango Notturno” and the North American concert tour of “Reimagining Flamenco” with acclaimed flamenco guitarist

Grisha Goryachev Grigory "Grisha" Goryachev () (born 29 December 1977 in St. Petersburg) is a Russian virtuoso flamenco and classical guitarist now living in the United States. A master of both flamenco and classical guitar, he is one of the world's few guitarists ...

. His latest touring project is “Convivencia” a unique program for voice and chamber music, celebrating religious and ethnic diversity and harmony. Hell’s Fury a theatre piece based on the “Hollywood Songbook” by German composer

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

, a collaboration between Kradjian and baritone Russell Braun had its US premiere at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2019.

Composer

Over a hundred works, composed or arranged by Kradjian have been performed by the Toronto and Vancouver Symphonies, I Musici de Montreal, Fresno Philharmonic, the Armenian Philharmonic and the Elmer Iseler Singers and Elektra Women's Chorus. He was also founder and music director of Camerata Creativa in Madrid, Spain, a chamber orchestra dedicated to the performance of contemporary works. His concerts have been broadcast by the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, Radio de la Suisse Romande, Radio and TV España, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, the Süddeutsche Rundfunk and NHK Japan. Kradjian is the artistic director and pianist of Canada’s acclaimed Juno winning Amici Chamber Ensemble, responsible for innovative programming, promotion, and performance of 50+ concerts, including annual educational outreach program with the students of Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts at Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto, Canada.

Educator

Fluent in six languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Armenian & Arabic), he has taught diverse musical subjects, including piano performance, chamber music, arrangement, composition, world music interpretation, at prestigious music schools such as the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (Germany), Centro Superior Escuela Musica Creativa and Katarina Gurska School of Music & Foundation (both in Madrid, Spain). He is also active as a chamber music and vocal music /

diction coach Diction ( (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a piece of writing such as a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its c ...

at Vancouver International Song Academy and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, where he also programs and conducts concerts of the Academy Chamber Orchestra, formed by the exceptionally gifted string players of The Glenn Gould School and Taylor Academy, also serving as member of the Jury at their annual Chamber Music Competition.

Discography

Kradjian's discography includes traversals of Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etudes and Piano Concerti on the Warner Music Spain label. "Miniatures", an anthology of music written by Armenian composers, and Robert Schumann's three Sonatas for Violin and Piano (with Ara Malikian) are both Hänssler Classic releases. A recording featuring songs by Pauline Viardot-Garcia, was released in 2005, bringing him a 2006 Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year. He has explored and performed tango music which led to the disc "Tango Notturno" on CBC Records. His award-winning orchestral arrangements of folk songs by Gomidas – Armenia's national composer – were released as "Gomidas Songs" in 2008 on the Nonesuch label and nominated for a Grammy award. With the Amici Chamber Ensemble he has released ''Armenian Chamber Music'' in 2010, which was nominated for a Juno for Best Classical Album, & Levant, Winner of the Juno for Best Classical Album 2013. ''Troubadour & the Nightingale'', an album of his original composition "Trobairitz Ysabella" and his arrangements of songs by

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

and

Sayat Nova Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ ( сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա (reformed); ka, საიათნოვა; ; ; born Harutyun Sayatyan; 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and '' ashugh'', who ...

, recorded on MCO Records by the

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meas ...

was nominated for Juno for Best Classical Album 2014. ''Mother of Light'', a new album of medieval sacred music, entirely arranged by Kradjian was nominated for a 2018 Juno for Best Classical Recording.

List of recordings

* ''Inspired By Canada / Notre Pays'' (2017, Marquis Classics), with Mireille Asselin & Amici Chamber Ensemble * ''Mother of Light'' (2016, Delos Music) * ''Levant'' (2012, ATMA Classique) * ''Troubadour & the Nightingale'' (2012, MCO Records) * ''Armenian Chamber Music'' (2010, ATMA Classique) * ''Gomidas Songs'' (2008, Nonesuch) with Chamber Players of the Armenian Philharmonic conducted by Eduard Topchjan. * ''Tango Notturno'' (2007, CBC Records) * ''Twelve Transcendental Etudes: Franz Liszt'' (2005, Warner Music Spain) * ''

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García,FitzLyon, p. 15, referring to the baptismal name. Thbirth recorddigitized a ...

: Lieder Chansons Canzoni Mazurkas'' (Analekta, 2004) * ''Piano Concerto no 1 : Franz Liszt (with Goettinger Symphonie Orchester)'' 2001 * ''Robert Schumann: Three Sonatas for Violin & Piano'' (Hanssler Klassik, 1998) * ''Miniatures: Works by Armenian composers for violin & piano (''Malkrafon, 1996)

Awards

In addition to two

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s and a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination, Kradjian has won the Chalmers Grant of the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

and grants from the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kradjian, Serouj Armenian classical pianists Armenian pianists Canadian people of Armenian descent Canadian composers Canadian male composers 20th-century Canadian pianists 1973 births Living people American Oriental Orthodox Christians Canadian Oriental Orthodox Christians University of Toronto alumni Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners Canadian male pianists 21st-century Canadian classical pianists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Musicians from Beirut Lebanese people of Armenian descent Lebanese pianists Diction coaches