The VEM Ensemble is the cornerstone of the Armenian Music Program at UCLA, which⁠ in its 12 years of existence has become an internationally renowned academic leader in celebrating the richness and diversity of Armenian musical tradition. In residence at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the VEM has worked with such musicians as Kim Kashkashian, Tigran Mansurian, David Starobin, Seth Knopp, and many others. The Ensemble has performed at various venues in Los Angeles including Zipper Hall, Bing Theater, Schoenberg Hall, the Hammer Museum, as well as in Boston, Montreal, Detroit, New Mexico, Colorado, and the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival in Italy. In his review of their performance in Italy, critic Laurence Vittes writes, “The evening’s most memorable music was made by the VEM Quartet…who laid out Eduard Mirzoyan’s String Quartet with a feline, subtle grace that touched hearts with its gentle melodic content and long-lined eloquence.” The VEM is featured in Modulation Necklace and Serenade with a Dandelion, the critically acclaimed CDs of Armenian Music by the Naxos-distributed label, New Focus Recordings.

Ally Cho’s musical journey began in Gold Coast, Australia, where she first picked up the violin at the age of 5. Graduating All Saints Anglican School, Gold Coast with a full music scholarship, she continued her education at Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Melbourne. Winner of the Bach Competition in Melbourne twice, she took masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in England. She then pursued her Bachelor’s degree in classical violin at Manhattan School of Music in New York City, broadening her horizons with chamber music opportunities. At UCLA, Ally studies with Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian, and has been a member of the VEM Ensemble since 2023.

Anoush Tamar Suni is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA. She earned her PhD in sociocultural anthropology from UCLA in 2019. She is currently working on her book project, which investigates the afterlives of Armenian material heritage in the region of Van in contemporary Turkey. Anoush is the great-granddaughter of composer and musicologist Grikor Mirzaian Suni. Growing up, she learned the music of her great-grandfather from her late mother, Armena Marderosian, who was dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Grikor Suni’s music. Anoush began her musical studies with classical violin and later studied guitar, saz (bağlama), and oud. Since childhood, Anoush has been performing the music of Grikor Suni on violin, oud, and voice, along with her late mother, sister (Sevan Suni), and other musicians. In 2009, Anoush was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, with which she traveled to Armenia, Jordan, and Turkey, to study folk music on the oud. She now continues her longtime interest in the oud and Armenian folk music as an oud fellow in the UCLA Armenian Music Program under the mentorship of Antranig Kzirian.

Antranig Kzirian is an oud performer, song writer, and educator. Known for blending rock, jazz, classical, and folk idioms, he has toured internationally with VI×ZA, String Harmonies, and Kef Time LA. He studied with distinguished musicians Ara Der Marderosian, Ara Dinkjian, John Bilezikjian, and John Berberian, performed and recorded with Rosa Linn, Serj Tankian of System of a Down, and Capital Cities, and worked with producers/songwriters Warren Huart and Rick Nowels. Antranig released a solo album ‘nOUD’ and co-founded TAQSIM.IM, a world music software and mobile app company dedicated to providing education and cutting-edge production technology in the realm of modal music. Recently a featured artist @ LAIST.com for LA Weekly, he is the oud mentor of UCLA Armenian Music Program’s fellowship program.

Damon Zavala, a Mexican-American violist and violinist from Oregon. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music, Damon dedicates himself to part-time teaching of string chamber studies at UCLA, under the guidance of Brian Chen and Movses Pogossian, and at the SOL-LA Music Academy in Santa Monica. While at UCLA, he actively participates as a violist in the Armenian Music Program and is a member of the VEM Quartet. This experience not only enriches his understanding but also amplifies his ongoing commitment to showcasing a broad spectrum of cultural expressions in music. This dedication has most recently led him to a pivotal role with the Sphinx Organization, where he currently manages community arts organizations to enhance the representation of underrepresented communities in orchestral settings, striving to ensure that Black and Brown voices can be heard and valued. His efforts to broaden his teaching outreach and contribute significantly to both educational and commercial music sectors underscore his dedication to diversity and inclusion in classical music.

Hasmik Harutyunyan is a Meritorious Artist of the Republic of Armenia. She specializes in traditional Armenian songs and dances. She was a soloist of the Akunq Folk Ensemble of National Television and Radio and is one of the founding members of the Shoghaken Ensemble. She has recorded several CDs for Traditional Crossroads of New York and Face Music of Switzerland. She has toured around the world with the Shoghaken Ensemble and performed with Oakland’s Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble several times as a guest artist.  Her CD Armenian Lullabies was recognized by the New York Times as one of the best recordings of world music in 2004. At the Tashir Armenian Music Awards in 2010, Hasmik was named “Enchanting Voice of Armenia.” She has recently published Ororner: Armenian Lullabies and Arev, Arev, Yek, Yek,  collections of Armenian lullabies and children’s songs with lyrics and recordings. Hasmik is the artistic director of Hayrik Mouradian Children’s Folk Song and Dance Ensemble and is currently an invited mentor of Armenian folk singing for UCLA Armenian Music Program’s fellowship program.

Lori Der Sahakian is a PhD student in Ethnomusicology at UCLA and the 2024-2025 UCLA Armenian Music Program fellow studying Armenian folk singing with Hasmik Harutyunyan. Lori received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Reed College and worked as a research assistant with Dr. Shohei Kobayashi. She has several years of experience singing in choirs and a cappella groups and introduced the music of Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935) to Reed College’s choral program. Lori’s ongoing research project focuses on popular music in the Armenian diaspora.

Movses Pogossian is a celebrated prize-winning violinist, Distinguished Professor of Violin at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and Founder/Advisor of the UCLA Armenian Music Program. He participates in the Music for Food project, which fights hunger in local communities and gives the opportunity to experience the powerful role music plays as a catalyst for change. His recent CD releases include Con Anima, Hommage a Kurtag, Modulation Necklace, and Serenade with a Dandelion: Armenian Chamber Music, Old and New.

Niall Tarō Ferguson is a cellist, composer, and orchestrator. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2017 from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he studied cello performance with Antonio Lysy, and music composition with Ian Krouse and Bruce Broughton. Niall has participated in many international music festivals and performed on many of LA’s premiere contemporary music series. His concert works have been performed throughout California and overseas. As of 2019, Niall is a Program Associate with the Asia / America New Music Institute (AANMI), a collective that pursues cultural exchange through modern music. In April 2019 he participated in his first AANMI tour and contributed to lectures given at institutions throughout Asia. Niall is of Japanese descent on his mother’s side, and of Scottish and Irish descent on his father’s. He goes by both his Gaelic and Japanese names, Niall or Tarō respectively.

Sevan Suni is an associate professor in the Biology Department at the University of San Francisco. Her research focuses on the processes that generate and maintain biological diversity in the context of ongoing environmental changes. She focuses specifically on understanding if human-dominated areas affect the movement of bees, and on how urban areas can support pollinator populations. She has also played violin since age four, and she has enjoyed performing with orchestras and with her family throughout her life.

Vardan Baghdasaryan is a Meritorious Artist of the Republic of Armenia. He is a member of the Shoghaken Ensemble and Sayat Nova Ensemble. He is one of Armenia’s most sought-after kamancha players and has performed in noted concert halls and festivals throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Russia, and the Middle East with the Shoghaken Ensemble and as a solo artist. He has recorded CDs with the Shoghaken Ensemble, the Sayat Nova Ensemble, and for Atom Egoyan’s film, Ararat. Currently, Baghdasaryan is an invited mentor of kamancha for UCLA’s Armenian Music Program’s fellowship program.