The Armenian Music Program at UCLA is an academic program dedicated to the study and performance of Armenian music. It offers public concerts, workshops, community outreach events, undergraduate courses on Armenian music and dance, and fellowships for UCLA students to study and perform the diverse styles and repertoires of Armenian music.
Armenian
Music Program
Contact Us
Celebrating Armenian
Music, Arts, and Culture
May
23
2024
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED
Music of Java and Armenia
The Music of Java Ensemble and the Armenian Music Ensemble showcase traditional music from these regions on the same stage. The Music of Java Ensemble centers on the music of Central Javanese gamelan, a percussion-dominated musical ensemble featuring tuned bronze gongs, bronze metallophones, and drums, along with flutes, zither, vocals, and spiked fiddle. The ensemble
Schoenberg Hall
Jun
1
2024
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED
Fourth Annual Day of Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture
The fourth annual Day of Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture at UCLA will be a day-long festival spotlighting the depth and breadth of the Armenian Music Program through a variety of engaging events. The program will commence with a reading by poet and musician Raffi Joe Wartanian who teaches undergraduate writing at UCLA. Accompanied by
Schoenberg Music Building
Courses (2023-2024)
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Introduction to Armenian MusicARMENIA/ETHNMUS/MUSC M134
Instructor: Melissa Bilal
T/R, 1:00pm – 3:00 PM
Fall 2023
For inquiries contact Melissa Bilal
at melissabilal2@gmail.com
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Beginning Armenian DanceBeginning Armenian DanceDANCE 12
Instructor: Natalie Kamajian
Winter & Spring 2024
T/R 12:30-1:50 p.m.
For inquiries contact Melissa Bilal
at melissabilal2@gmail.com
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Introduction to Armenian Woodwinds: Duduk and ShviETHNMUS 91z & 161z
Instructor: Armen Adamian
Winter & Spring 2024
Wednesdays 4 - 7 PM
For inquires contact Armen Adamian
at adamianarmen@gmail.com
VEM Ensemble
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The VEM Ensemble is the Graduate Ensemble-in-Residence of the Program, dedicated to bringing forward Armenian classical and contemporary music through heartfelt, high-level performances. Under the artistic leadership of Founder/Director Movses Pogossian, the Ensemble features Ally Cho (violin), Damon Zaval (viola), and Niall Tarō Ferguson (cello). Vem means rock in Armenian, symbolizing the strength and lasting power of Armenian history and musical heritage.
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Armenian Music Ensemble
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The Armenian Music Ensemble under the directorship of UCLA Ethnomusicologist Armen Adamian focuses on the study and performance of Armenian vernacular musical styles and repertoires. The ensemble is supported by the Armenian Music Program’s mentor-student fellowship program through which each academic year, a group of UCLA students and alumna are provided with the opportunity of working with distinguished musicians from the local Armenian community.
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Our Recordings
Revisit Our Past Events
Intersections: Armenian Classical Composers
Hammer Museum | April 17, 2024
Serenade with a Dandelion: 4 CD-Set Album Launch Concert
Lani Hall | March 4, 2024
Celebration of Aram Khachaturian's 120th Birth Anniversary
Lani Hall | November 17, 2023
Third Annual Day of Armenian Music at UCLA
Schoenberg Hall and Courtyard | May 2023
Newsletter: Modulation Necklace
Our Media & Press Appearances
More News
Third Annual Day of Armenian Music to Feature Noted Armenian Composer, Artur Avanesov
In 2013, the Armenian Music Program was launched at UCLA with a single ensemble-in-residence, the string quartet VEM. The ensemble performed on campus and conducted a few outreach programs in what were admittedly modest beginnings. A lot has changed in ten years. When the program hosts its third-annual Day of Armenian Music on May 26
VEM Ensemble Sets out on 2023 Eastern U.S. Tour
The VEM Ensemble of the Armenian Music Program at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is coming to Detroit, Boston and Montreal as part of a tour sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) of the United States and Canada, with full concerts on, respectively, May 9, 11 and 13, held with local co-sponsoring
VEM Ensemble's International Tour
The VEM Ensemble has just completed its week-long tour of Armenia. Next up is “Resonances: The Music of Armenia” at the Hammer Museum on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. The VEM Ensemble of the UCLA Armenian Music Program has just returned from its March 2023 tour of Armenia. The tour included ten workshops and outreach
Learn More About Our Leadership Team
Melissa Bilal
The Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture, Director of Armenian Music Program
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Mary Sekayan
Coordinator of Armenian Music Program
Armen Adamian
Instructor of Armenian Woodwinds; Ph.D. Student in Ethnomusicology
Natalie Kamajian
Instructor of Beginning Armenian Dance; Ph.D. Student in Culture and Performance
Cross-Campus Collaborators
Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies
Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History
The Promise Armenian Institute
Promise Institute of Human Rights
Gender Studies Department
Armenian Student Association
Armenian Studies Minor
Support the program and keep the music playing!