UCLA's Review of the Armenian Music Program: A Look Back on the Past Year
UCLA's Armenian Music Program Thrives Despite Challenges, Looks Forward to 2021
The Armenian Music Program at UCLA experienced a remarkable 2019-2020 academic year, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, under the direction of Movses Pogossian, successfully navigated the difficulties and continued to make strides in the realm of Armenian music education.
In the midst of the pandemic, the Armenian Music Program introduced new courses, including a graduate seminar on Armenian folk music and a course for the Armenian Music Ensemble. Melissa Bilal taught the graduate seminar, while Armen Adamian took the helm of the Armenian Music Ensemble. The inaugural offering of the latter provided students with the opportunity to learn traditional Armenian songs, dances, and instruments.
The Armenian Music Ensemble's virtual classes during the lockdown period saw students transcribing and conceptualizing melodic structures and lyrics, ensuring a continued focus on music education despite the unusual circumstances. The ensemble also created a tutorial for the folk dance Gyovnd, allowing students to learn and practice dance while social distancing.
The VEM Ensemble, a key component of the program, continued its outreach efforts, performing for UCLA and local Armenian high school students. The ensemble also began exploring Armenian classical music at the start of the academic year and continued to expand its repertoire throughout the year, with members learning solo works by contemporary Armenian composers during the Spring quarter.
The program is hopeful that live performances will return, with plans for the VEM Ensemble to continue its outreach program and culminate with a return to Armenia in June 2021. The program is also planning to record a second CD highlighting the works of contemporary Armenian composers, a "sequel" to Modulation Necklace.
The success of the Armenian Music Program's classes, concerts, tours, collaborations, and recordings is attributed to the assistance and encouragement of its community partners and supporters. Notable collaborations include those with Danielle Segen and Victoria Simonyan, who worked on video recordings of "Oror", "Manushakin", and "Horzham".
The program also boasts a collaboration with the world-renowned jazz pianist, Tigran Hamasyan. Hamasyan is expected to return for a series of workshops on improvisation during the winter and spring quarters. His new album, "The Call Within", is set to be released in August.
As we look towards the 2020-2021 academic year, the Armenian Music Program will offer four different classes. These include "Introduction to Armenian Music", taught by Karenn Presti, "Masters and Masterpieces of Armenian Classical Music" taught by Movses Pogossian, "Armenian Music Ensemble" taught by Armen Adamian, and "Music and Intersectionality in the Mediterranean" taught by Melissa Bilal (guest lecturer from the American University of Armenia).
For detailed information on course offerings for the 2020-2021 academic year, it is recommended to consult UCLA’s archived course catalogs or contact the UCLA Armenian Studies program or Department of Ethnomusicology directly.
- Despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Armenian Music Program at UCLA is exploring new avenues for online education, offering courses such as "Introduction to Armenian Music" and "Armenian Music Ensemble".
- In addition to expanding its online offerings, the program is also looking forward to 2021, with plans for live performances and potential collaboration with world-renowned jazz pianist, Tigran Hamasyan, in improvisation workshops.
