The Pogossian Family Quintet
Movses Pogossian
Movses Pogossian made his American debut performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in 1990, about which Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe wrote: “There is freedom in his playing, but also taste and discipline. It was a fiery, centered, and highly musical performance…” Movses Pogossian has since performed with orchestras such as the Brandenburger Symphoniker and the Halle Philharmonic in Germany, the Sudety Philharmonic in Poland, the Tucson Symphony, the El Paso Symphony, the Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York, and the Toronto Sinfonia. His recent and upcoming performances include recitals in New York, Boston, Ann Arbor, and concerts in Korea, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Armenia. Pogossian was one of the 2016/17 Artists in Residence of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and performed the Mansurian Concerto No. 2 at their season-opening concerts, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane.
He is a Prizewinner of the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Competition, and the youngest-ever First Prize winner of the 1985 USSR National Violin Competition, previous winners of which included David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer. An active chamber musician, Pogossian has performed with members of the Tokyo, Kronos, and Brentano string quartets, and with such artists as Kim Kashkashian, Jeremy Denk, Lynn Harrell, Ani and Ida Kavafian, and Rohan de Saram. He frequently collaborates with the Apple Hill Chamber Players, teaching annually at their summer music festival in New Hampshire. Movses Pogossian is the Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Dilijan Chamber Music Series, which performs at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles, and is currently in its fIfteenth season (https://dilijan.larkmusicalsociety.org).
A committed propagate of new music, Pogossian has premiered over 80 works, and works closely with composers such as G. Kurtág, K. Saariaho, T. Mansurian, A. R. Thomas, P. Chihara, and Gabriela Lena Frank. His recently formed Duo with remarkable Japanese percussionist Kuniko Kato has commissioned several works for this unusual medium. In Los Angeles, Pogossian frequently performs on Monday Evening Concerts, and is the recipient of the 2011 Forte Award from Jacaranda, given for outstanding contributions to the promotion of new music and modern music.
His discography includes Complete Sonatas and Partitas by J. S. Bach and solo violin CDs “Inspired by Bach”, “Blooming Sounds”, and “In Nomine”. The 2009 release of G. Kurtag’s “Kafka Fragments” for soprano and violin on Bridge label (with Tony Arnold) includes a unique video documentary on the work with the composer, and a DVD of an unedited live performance. In his review of the recording, Paul Griffiths writes: “…remarkable is Pogossian’s contribution, which is always beautiful, across a great range of colors and gestures, and always seems on the edge of speaking—or beyond.” The recent Bridge Records CD of Complete Violin Works of Stefan Wolpe made the 2015 Top Ten list in Sunday Times (UK). Upcoming releases include a Schoenberg/Webern DVD, recorded at Schoenberg’s Brentwood home (with Kim Kashkashian, Rohan de Saram, and Judith Gordon), and a double album of Chamber Music of Tigran Mansurian, with Kim Kashkashian.
Since earning his advanced degrees from the Komitas Conservatory in Armenia and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music in Moscow, Mr. Pogossian has held teaching positions at Duquesne, Bowling Green, Wayne State, and SUNY Buffalo Universities. His principal teachers were L. Zorian, V. Mokatsian, V. Klimov, and legendary Louis Krasner. Movses Pogossian is currently Professor of Violin at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, as well as Founder/Director of the UCLA Armenian Music Program. He participates in the Music for Food project, which raises awareness of the hunger problem and gives the opportunity to experience the powerful role music can play as a catalyst for change.
Varty Manouelian
Varty Manouelian made her American Debut in 1993 with the North Carolina Symphony as First Prize winner of the Bryan International Competition. Shehas also been a prize winner at anumber of other competitions in Europe, including the Kotzian International Competition and the Wieniawski International Violin Competition. Manouelian has recorded and appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras in the United States, Bulgaria, Russia, Armenia, Poland, Spain and Italy. Her chamber music performances include Marlboro Music Festival, Apple Hill Festival, Sebago Festival, El Paso Festival, Olympic Music Festival, among others. She has collaborated as a chamber musician with such artists as Joshua Bell, Yuja Wang, Kim Kashkashian, Rohan de Saram, Garrick Ohlsson, Nobuko Imai, Thomas Adès, and members of the Juilliard, Guarner, Tokyo, Brentano, Borromeo, and Mendelssohn string quartets.
Dedicated teacher and educator, Varty Manouelian is a Lecturer of Violin at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, teaches violin and chamber music at the Colburn Academy and CSPA, and spends summers coaching chamber music at the Apple Hill Festival in New Hampshire. She has been an active participant at LA Philharmonic’s Music Outreach programs, having taught at YOLA since its inception, as well as at the Renaissance Arts Academy.
Prior to joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2004, Manouelian was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In Los Angeles, she frequently performs at the Los Angels Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Society and Green Umbrella new-music series, as well as at Camerata Pacifica, Monday Evening Concerts, and the Dilijan Series. Her recording credits include archival radio recordings for the Bulgarian State Radio, and CDs on Albany and Bridge Records labels. Her recent CD of Complete Violin Works of Stefan Wolpe (jointly with Movses Pogossian) made the 2015 Top Ten list in Sunday Times (UK). Varty Manouelian holds degrees from the State Music Academy in Bulgaria and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Boyan Letchev and Donald Weilerstein.
Edvard Pogossian
Edvard Pogossian is a recent graduate of the Juilliard School studying with Natasha Brofsky. As the recent winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, Edvard performed the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations at David Geffen Hall in New York and at the Harris Theater in Chicago with the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of Itzhak Perlman. The Chicago Tribune praised Edvard’s performance for his “astonishing musical and technical maturity,” as well as his “winning lightness of touch to everything he played, combined with a velvety tone.” In the summer of 2016 he performed the Rococo Variations with the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall on the annual “Armenian Night at the Pops” concert. He was also the winner of the inaugural Los Angeles Philharmonic Young Artists Competition, giving him the honor to play the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in Walt Disney Hall. Edvard’s other notable performances include appearances at Carnegie Hall, Zipper Hall, and on NPR’s From the Top radio show. He has also performed as a soloist with the New Mexico Philharmonic for their Protege Series.
Edvard is a long time participant of the Apple Hill Chamber Music Festival in New Hampshire, and has also attended Yellow Barn, Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop, Kneisel Hall, the Heifetz International Institute of Music, Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists’ Program, and the Meadowmount School of Music. He has studied in Los Angeles with Paul Cohen and Rick Mooney, and later spent two years studying with Ronald Leonard at the Colburn Young Artists Academy. He has also worked with Frans Helmerson, Hans Jensen, Clive Greensmith, Joel Krosnick, Phoebe Carrai, and received chamber coachings from Arnold Steinhardt, Ida Kavafian, Joseph Kalichstein, Paul Coletti, Joseph Lin, and Laurie Smukler.
Dedicated to chamber music, Edvard is a founding member of the Zelda Piano Quartet, a group formerly a part of the Juilliard Honors Chamber Music Program. He represented the Juilliard School at various high profile occasions, including the recent performance for the First Lady of China, and was a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship from the Juilliard School.
Since 2018, Edvard is artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel Under the guidance of Gary Hoffman.
Cara Pogossian
Violist Cara Pogossian is currently a junior at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she is pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree under the tutelage of Hsin-Yun Huang. Previously, she studied with Paul Coletti at the Colburn Music Academy, and also with Che-Yen (Brian) Chen. As a member of the Aurielle String Quartet, she is a Bronze Medal winner of the 2017 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. Cara was the Principal Violist in the Colburn Music Academy’s Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Principal Violist of the Colburn Youth Orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, she has frequently attended the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire, and has more recently attended the Taos School of Music, the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program and the Perlman Music Program, where she studied with Kirsten Docter and Carol Rodland. Cara has also taken private lessons with Kim Kashkashian, Misha Amory, Roger Tapping, Carla Maria Rodrigues, and Helen Callus.
Cara is a 1st Prize Winner of the ASTA California State Solo Competition, as well as a 3rd Prize Winner at the Occidental College String Competition. Cara was recently featured on NPR’s “From the Top” radio show, performing Brahms’ Viola Sonata with the host Christopher O’Riley. As an AGBU Scholarship recipient, she performed at several high-profile concerts on the East Coast, including Toronto and at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. Earlier this year, Cara performed a joint recital with her brother, Eddie, at Weill Recital Hall for the 36th anniversary of Musical Armenia. Committed to musical outreach, Cara has frequently performed at schools, retirement centers, and hospitals in the greater Los Angeles area, and is also an organizer of several Music for Food performances at the Montrose (CA) Farmers Market, raising funds for local food banks.
Anoush Pogossian
Anoush Pogossian, from Glendale, California, is a junior at the Verdugo Academy and studies with Michael Yoshimi at the Colburn School as well as with Michele Zukovsky. A 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar in Art nominee, she will be touring Europe this summer as a member of the National Youth Orchestra (NYO-USA) under Sir Antonio Pappano and with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. In the summer of 2018, she performed as Principal Clarinet of the National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2) and attended the YellowBarn Young Artists Program, which she will be returning to this summer. Raised by professional musicians, Anoush has performed with her family in a variety of fundraising events for Music for Food, Dilijan Chamber Music Series, Lark Musical Society, and in commemoration for the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. She is a recipient of the 2016 “Shnorhali” Music Committee of the Western Diocese Armenian Young Artist Scholarship. In her free time, Anoush also loves to go biking, cook, and learn about psychology.