Armenian Music Program - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Join us for the Feminist Armenian Research Collective (FemARC) Third Workshop: New Directions in Music, Arts, and Performance Studies!

The conference panels will take place on Tuesday, May 26, and Wednesday, May 27 in the Schoenberg Music Building room 1230 (Green Room).

The Tuesday sessions will be concluded with a concert, Piano Works of Koharik Gazarossian, at 6:00 pm in Schoenberg Hall.

See the full conference program here!

Armenian Woodwinds course flyer

The Armenian Woodwinds Ensemble is back!

By popular student-demand, the Armenian Woodwinds ensemble course is back at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music!

This course is dedicated to the study and performance of Armenian Woodwinds; the double reed duduk and the fipple flute shvi. Taught within the framework of a native pedagogy, students develop performance technique and musicality in tandem with a critical understanding of Armenian vernacular cultures and political histories. Musical lessons are taught via oral transmission in a participatory environment with corresponding discussions themed to some of the most pressing issues in Armenian music today. The course will also feature guest appearances and lessons by visiting Armenian woodwind masters, expanding students’ exposure to diverse instruments, styles and contexts of music-making in Armenia and the LA Armenian diaspora.

All performance levels are welcome and no prior music experience is needed. Enroll today!

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 Woodwinds: Duduk & shvi
ETHNMUS 91Z / 161Z
Instructor of Record: Dr. Melissa Bilal
W 4-7 pm
Spring 2026

Note: Enroll into "World Music Performance Organizations: Open Ensemble: Activity 6"
Music and Minorities in Turkey
ETHNMUS 188
Instructor: Melissa Bilal
T/R 11:00am-12:50pm
Spring 2025
Introduction to Armenian Music
ARMENIA/ETHNMUS/MUSC M134
Instructor: Melissa Bilal
T/R, 1:00pm – 2:50 PM
Fall 2024

For inquiries contact Melissa Bilal
at melissabilal2@gmail.com
Beginning Armenian Dance

Beginning Armenian Dance
DANCE 12
Instructor: Natalie Kamajian
Winter 2025
M/W 12:30-1:50 pm
Introduction to Armenian Woodwinds: Duduk and Shvi
ETHNMUS 91z & 161z
Instructor: Armen Adamian
Winter & Spring 2024
Wednesdays 4 - 7 PM

For inquires contact Armen Adamian
at adamianarmen@gmail.com

Photo and article by Karine Armen

Armenian Music Program's 120th Celebration of Hayrik Mouradian featured in the Armenian Mirror-Spectator

See the article feature here!

VEM Ensemble

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 directorship of Movses Pogossian, distinguished professor of violin and the founder/advisor of our program, the Ensemble features Ally Cho (violin), Damon Zavala (viola), and Niall Tarō Ferguson (cello). Vem means rock in Armenian, symbolizing the strength and lasting power of Armenian history and musical heritage.

Learn More

Armenian Music Ensemble

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.

Learn More

AMP Mentor and Fellows performing

AMP's participation in the 66th Annual Meeting of the SEMSCHC featured in Ethnomusicology Review

See the article feature here!

Our Recordings

Serenade with a Dandelion

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Armenian Music Program featured a world premiere of Serenade with a Dandelion on March 4, 2024. Hailed as a “game changer,” “a five-star recording,” and a “treasure trove of fine and compelling music,” Serenade with a Dandelion is among the most ambitious Armenian music recording projects ever completed. Conceived as a continuation of the ongoing recordings of Armenian music in the Modulation Necklace Series, the new CD features music by legends Komitas Vardapet and modern-day master Tigran Mansurian, as well as cutting-edge new composers. Spanning acentury of music, this is “a powerful and beautiful testament to Armenia’s rich musical legacy.”

Explore all recordings here

Grikor Mirzaian Suni: Revolutionary and Musician

Lani Hall | February 26, 2025

Watch the Grikor Suni concert

...

Intersections: Armenian Classical Composers

Hammer Museum | April 17, 2024

Watch the 2024 Hammer Museum Concert

Watch the 2023 Hammer Museum Concert

...

Serenade with a Dandelion: 4 CD-Set Album Launch Concert

Lani Hall | March 4, 2024

Watch the Serenade with a Dandelion concert

...

Celebration of Aram Khachaturian's 120th Birth Anniversary

Lani Hall | November 17, 2023

Watch the Aram Khachaturian concert

...

A Workshop on Armenian Folk Dance-Songs by Tzovinar Artzrouni
After a general introduction to Armenian folk songs, the workshop
participants initiated into Armenian folk dance-songs. They
learned about how dance-songs were created, how they were danced to, how they were transmitted, and how they traveled through time and space, with a special emphasis on the power of the circle as a collective entity.
Workshop participants sang and danced together to three dance-songs.

This workshop was organized and sponsored by the HASOM Armenian Music Program, presented by Tzovinar Artzrouni in Natalie Kamajian's Dance 12 class.
"The Brass Band of the King: Armenians in Ethiopia" Lecture by Dr. Boris Adjemian
In 1924, the crown prince and future emperor of Ethiopia, Ras Täfäri, on a visit to Jerusalem, invited forty Armenian orphans who had survived the genocide of 1915-1916 to form his empire's royal brass band. The Armenian conductor of this brass band would go on to compose the first official anthem of the Ethiopian state. Drawing on this highly symbolic event, Boris Adjemian explores the role of collective memory in the making of an Armenian diaspora community in Ethiopia during the colonial era, as the country was in the process of becoming a nation-state. His book investigates the agency of Armenian immigrants and their descendants, as they played with and undermined assigned identities, forging a place in society between "Ethiopian" and "foreign."

This lecture was co-organized by the UCLA HASOM Armenian Music Program and the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History, and co-sponsored by the Promise Armenian Institute.
"Writer and Witness: Aram Andonian and Early Narratives on the Armenian Genocide" Lecture by Dr. Boris Adjemian
The name of Aram Andonian, a former journalist and author deported in 1915, is often cited in the historiography for the documents he published in 1920 in the aim of proving the intent of the Ottoman rulers to annihilate the Armenians during World War I.
However, historians have shown little interest to Andonian's literary oeuvre and his book Ayn sew orerun... ("In those dark days..."), a collection of short stories based on his own experience as a deportee in Meskene camp (Syria), written on the spot, and published in 1919. In this lecture, I propose to attempt to overcome this division between literature and history through a comparative reading of literary and documentary texts written by Aram Andonian about the camp of Meskene, and to answer the following question: is a historical reading of Ayn sew orerun... possible? And if so, what contribution would it make to our knowledge and to the historiography of the genocide?

This lecture was co-organized by the UCLA HASOM Armenian Music Program and the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History, and co-sponsored by the Promise Armenian Institute.

More News

Melissa Bilal named to new Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture at UCLA

Made possible by a gift to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Melissa Bilal will be the inaugural holder of the Promise Chair.

A Day of Armenian Music

Nine years ago, the Armenian Music Program was started with a single student ensemble-in-residence. On Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at 12:00 pm, the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will...

Serenade with a Dandelion Named a Top Classical Album in 2024

Long-running and influential online magazine Textura has just released its top 20 lists for classical and jazz recordings of 2024. Coming in at number three on the list for quartet, ensemble or...

Armenian Chamber Music album was co-conceived by School of Music Professor Movses Pogossian

A new album of contemporary chamber music might never have come into existence without SOM professor Movses Pogossian. Recorded on the UCLA campus, the album, Con Anima, is also among a select number of projects that the record label, Edition of Contemporary Music, has produced outside of Europe.

Professor Melissa Bilal Joins Armenian Music Program as Its Full-Time Associate Director

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Melissa Bilal, an internationally recognized ethnomusicologist, sociocultural anthropologist, and social historian, as the full-time Associate Director of the Armenian Music Program.

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...

UCLA Armenian Music Program - A Year in Review

The UCLA Armenian Music Program showcases the program's achievements and milestones during the academic year, including the program's expansion with two new courses and the release of a critically praised album featuring the UCLA VEM Ensemble.

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator - VEM Ensemble Celebrates Culture and Influence of Armenian Music in Outreach Concerts

READ: The UCLA VEM Quartet performed for students of the AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in an inspiring and educational program under the guidance of artistic director Professor Movses Pogossian.

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...

See article feature here!

Melissa Bilal

Promise Professor in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture and 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...

Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies