MAKAM DELTA
A Musical Odyssey from Armenia to Appalachia

T.J. Troy is a Grammy Award-winning percussionist, composer, and producer whose work spans musical traditions from around the world. A leading practitioner of North Indian tabla and Arabic percussion, he has performed internationally at festivals and concert halls and collaborated with artists including Mamak Khadem, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Ustad Aashish Khan, and Cirque du Soleil. His performance on Ensemble Partch’s Plectra and Percussion Dances contributed to the group’s 2014 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium. Troy is also an educator and an innovative multimedia artist whose work bridges contemporary composition, global percussion traditions, and experimental performance.

Felix Kochendörfer is a Los Angeles–based upright bassist and audio engineer whose musical roots span jazz and European musical traditions. Born into a musical family in Weimar, Germany, he began studying violin and trombone before discovering the upright bass and developing a passion for jazz. His early work with a collective devoted to Django Reinhardt’s musical legacy led to performances and tours across Germany and Italy. Since moving to the United States, Kochendorfer has become an established presence in the Los Angeles gypsy jazz scene, collaborating with artists including Trio Dinicu, Yorgui Loeffler, Stéphane Wrembel, and Jimmy Grant.

Alexy Yeghikian is a Los Angeles–based guitarist, composer, and recording artist whose work spans a wide range of musical styles. He studied guitar performance at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and began his professional career performing with artists across different genres, including music shaped by non-Western rhythms. In addition to his work as a touring and session guitarist, he leads the hard-rock project Yeghikian, for which he has written, performed, and recorded original music. With the Sér Ensemble, he brings his versatility and broad stylistic range to a musical conversation rooted in Armenian traditions and open to improvisation.

Shant Tanielian is a violinist whose work brings Armenian musical traditions into dialogue with contemporary and cross-cultural musical expression. Originally from Aleppo, Syria, Tanielian contributes the violin’s distinctive melodic voice to original compositions that draw on Armenian folk music, modal jazz, flamenco, rebetiko, and improvisation. His playing helps shape the ensemble’s exploration of musical memory, cultural exchange, and the connections between traditions on either side of the Mediterranean.

Raffi Joe Wartanian is a musician, composer, writer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of Armenian musical heritage, improvisation, and contemporary composition. His album MAKAM DELTA brings the oud into conversation with Armenian folk music, Appalachian bluegrass, modal jazz, flamenco, and rebetiko, creating an instrumental soundscape shaped by cultural memory and exchange. His previous albums include Critical Distance (2019) and Pushkin Street (2013), and his music has been featured in film trailers and theatrical productions. Wartanian teaches writing at UCLA and served as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Glendale, California, from 2023 to 2026. His multi-modal composition practice facilitates an engagement with and exploration of intercultural dialogue.