Composer Arpine Kalinina, a member of the Composers’ Union of Armenia, was recently invited to Germany by the Armenian Diocese in Germany for a concert tour, together with four students from her composition studio. Her highly talented students from various music institutions—15-year-old Artashes Mosikyan, Dalar Chichian, 14-year-old Hayk Julhakyan, and 12-year-old Arthur Grigoryan—all of whom are laureates and participants in various national and international composition competitions and festivals—presented three concerts in the German cities of Cologne, Bremen, and Stuttgart. The tour provided a significant opportunity to showcase the compositions of Armenia’s young creative talents to both Armenian and international audiences.
Arpine, please tell us about the concert tour.
The concerts were organized to present the works of several of my composition studio students. This marked the first time that my students were invited abroad for a concert tour, with a program devoted entirely to their own music. They presented their piano and vocal compositions, created over the past five years. Especially for these concerts, the young composers created four new piano works, inspired by the foundations of Armenian music and the legacy of Komitas.
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Following the performances, we received warm and appreciative feedback from both organizers and audiences. Many shared that the students’ compositions led them imaginatively to Armenia, recalling its landscapes and the enduring spirit of Komitas. The audiences included both Armenians and Germans. After the concerts, several piano teachers requested the scores of my students’ compositions to include them in the repertoire for their own students. This provided a valuable opportunity for my students to have their works performed and heard around the world.
My students’ vocal works were performed with graceful artistry and warm expression by Anush Nazaryan, a wonderful German-based soprano and the choirmaster of the Armenian Community “Komitas” Choir in Cologne.
We express our deep gratitude to the Armenian Diocese in Germany and to His Grace Bishop Serovpé Isakhanyan for inviting us and for valuing and encouraging the work of young composers. We are also sincerely grateful to Father Tiratur, Father Hrach, and Deacon Sayat for welcoming us with such warmth and kindness in Stuttgart, Bremen, and Cologne. Our thanks extend to all who hosted, guided, and accompanied us throughout this journey, making it a memorable and inspiring experience.
The inviting hosts offered us a truly unforgettable journey. During the tour, my students had the privilege of exploring a rich variety of cultural treasures—the Beethoven House in Bonn, the Stuttgart Library, where they glimpsed Brahms’ manuscript, the magnificent Cologne Cathedral, alongside which our concert was held, and the iconic statue of Bremen’s musicians. Germany, as one of the birthplaces of classical music, left a particularly deep impression on my students, inspiring them with renewed creative energy.
Please tell us about your students and share which compositions they presented during the concert tour.
Artashes Mosikyan (Romanos Melikyan State College of Music) presented his piano pieces “Storm of Wild Waves”and “The Turbulence Within,” as well as the romance “River” for voice and piano (text by Hamo Sahyan). Especially for these concerts, he composed an impressive new piano work titled “Springtime, Yet Snowing,” based on Komitas’s song of the same name. Artashes began his creative journey under my guidance and has been studying with me for five years. During this time, he has demonstrated depth of musical thinking, expressiveness, and a rich harmonic sensibility, which together form a solid foundation for creating large-scale works. Artashes, like all of my students, approached the task of composing pieces inspired by Komitas’s melodies with great responsibility, and created works of real merit, expressing their profound love for Komitas’s music.
Arthur Grigoryan (Tigran Chukhajyan Music School) presented his original piano piece “Komitas Dance” and the romance “Spring Awakening” (text by Hovhannes Shiraz), beautifully conveying the spring atmosphere of Shiraz’s poetry. While composing the romance, Arthur listened to recordings of Shiraz himself reading the poem and was deeply influenced by the poet’s recitation.
Arthur has been studying composition with me for four years, and over the past year he has shown clear creative growth. Alongside his musical abilities, he has a strong interest in the natural sciences and studies at the Artashes Shahinyan Specialized School of Physics and Mathematics. This interest helps him to concentrate and focus, qualities essential to both composing and performing.
Hayk Julhakyan (Paronyan Music School) has been studying composition with me for five years. Like all my students, he began his creative journey in my composition class. In Germany, Hayk presented his own piano works—“Little Stream”, “Crane Bird”, and “Magic of Spring”—as well as his romance “Call”, inspired by the poem by Vahan Teryan, remaining completely true to the spirit of Teryan’s poetry.
I believe it is important that my students compose vocal works based on Armenian poetry, as this helps them connect more deeply with the Armenian language and literature. Hayk, like Artashes and Arthur, is a laureate of the Edward Mirzoyan Young Composers Competition. He is also an excellent pianist and, together with Artashes, studies piano in the class of Izabella Paronyan.
Hayk dreams of composing a piano concerto or piano poem with the orchestra in the near future and performing it himself. Achieving this requires careful preparation, knowledge of orchestration, and many more things. Given how attentive, musical, and determined Hayk is, I have full confidence in his aspiration.
I am delighted to see that each of my four students has genuine creative aspirations, clear goals, and the potential to compose works in multiple genres, including large-scale pieces such as concertos and symphonic compositions.
Dalar Chichian, who graduated last year with honors from the piano department of the Avet Terteryan School of Arts, is now in her second year of studying composition with me and has shown steady progress during this time. As a young composer, she has performed in several concert halls and participated in the Aram Khachaturian Young Composers Festival. In Germany, Dalar presented her two piano pieces, “May Diptych”, as well as her piano work “O, Tall One, My Beloved Nazan”, inspired by Komitas’ songs.
Dalar has an exceptional ear and has sung in a choir, performing Komitas’ choral works many times, which are very dear to her. It was this love for Komitas that inspired Dalar and my other students to work thoughtfully and carefully when composing pieces based on his melodies. The concerts in Germany, where Komitas himself once studied, gave my students a special opportunity to engage more closely with his musical legacy—a connection that I believe will have a lasting influence on their future creative paths.
What would you wish for your students?
I wish them new creative insights, and new compositions that can touch people’s hearts and souls. I hope my students to think independently, cherish their God-given creative gift, the uniqueness of their essence, and the light of their soul…
Suzy BABAYAN
In the main photo, from left to right: Artashes Mosikyan, Hayk Julhakyan, Arthur Grigoryan, Anush Nazaryan, Bishop Serovpé Isakhanyan , Dalar Chichian, Arpine Kalinina.
