Jacobs School of Music

Biography

Pianist Aram Arakelyan is a collaborative artist who performs throughout the United States and around the world. Arakelyan has been a member of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Chamber and Collaborative Music Department faculty since its inception in Fall 2016.

Arakelyan’s performance with tenor Hui Jin at the 2016 Prague Spring Festival was praised for “mature warmth of musicality. . . creating an enchanted atmosphere, with delicately-shaded phrasing” (Orer Magazine). He has also performed at the Festival International de Flauta Latino in Monterrey, Mexico, the Schubert Club Series in St. Paul, MN, and many others. He has partnered such artists as Patricia McCarty, Dale Clevenger, Marco Granados, and Alberto Almarza. He regularly shares the stage with his esteemed colleagues at the Jacobs School.

Arakelyan has performed extensively with choirs and large ensembles and has worked with such renowned conductors as Carl St. Clair, Helmut Rilling, Barlow Bradford and Jerry Junkin. His tenure with the USC Thornton Chamber Singers under the direction of Jo-Michael Scheibe yielded numerous performances of a wide range of standard and contemporary repertoire, both at home and abroad. Notable performances during this time were at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City, the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, South Korea, and the China International Chorus Festival in Beijing. Among the various choral ensembles Arakelyan has also performed with are the Utah Chamber Artists and NOTUS, the IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. A versatile musician, Aram Arakelyan has performed in variety of different genres and settings including the American Contemporary Ballet, High Holy Days with the Congregation Kol Ami in Los Angeles, and a fun-filled “Wah-Hoo Revue!” at the Sun Valley Opera House in Idaho.

Before moving to Bloomington, Arakelyan held collaborative piano staff positions at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA, and the Meadowmount School of Music in Westport, NY. He served as a member of the official collaborative staff at the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition, and the 2015 International Horn Symposium in Los Angeles. He is currently on faculty at the Indiana University Summer String Academy.

Arakelyan holds degrees from The University of Utah, The University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southern California. He received his education under the mentorship of Anne Epperson, Norman Krieger, and Alan L. Smith; and in studios of Donald McInnes, Elizabeth Hynes, Marianne Gedigian and Glenn Dicterow. He has participated in numerous masterclasses with renowned artists and pedagogues, among them Martin Katz, Stephanie Blythe, Robert Spillman, and Jeffrey Kahane. He has been a recipient of the Gwendolyn Koldofsky Fellowship in Keyboard Collaborative Arts, has been a fellow at the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, and upon graduation from the University of Southern California, was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda honor society.