Lori Der Sahakian is a vocal fellow under the mentorship of Hasmik Harutyunyan during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Lori is a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology focusing on popular music in the Armenian diaspora. Lori received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Reed College in 2023, where she wrote her undergraduate thesis on representations of the Middle East in post-9/11 American pop and hip-hop music. She has worked as a research assistant to Dr. Mark Burford on a project examining the relationship between Black musicians and the Rolling Stones. Most recently, she worked as a research assistant to Dr. Shohei Kobayashi, where she provided translations, transliterations, and historical and cultural context of the secular choral works of Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935) for Reed College’s choral program. Lori has several years of experience singing in choirs and a cappella groups, and is very excited to join the Armenian Music Program at UCLA.