‘Musical Armenia’ Concert Set to Thrill at Carnegie Hall

By Khajag Zeitlian

NEW YORK—The annual Musical Armenia concert will take place this year on Fri., March 28, at 8 p.m., in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. Presented by the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and the Prelacy Ladies’ Guild, the concert will feature clarinetist Narek Arutyunian, accompanied by pianist Yunqing Zhou and violinist Hahnsol Kim. Arutyunian and Zhou are members of the Young Concert Artists organization, and all three talented musicians have performed on American and international stages.

Born in 1992 in Gyumri, Armenia, Narek Arutyunian’s family moved to Moscow when he was three. He graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory where he trained with Evgeny Petrov. By the age of 16, he had already won first prizes in the International Young Musicians Competition in Prague and the Musical Youth of the Planet Competition in Moscow.

Arutyunian has performed extensively in the United States, Australia, Asia, and Europe, where he has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kaliningrad Philharmonic, Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. Arutyunian’s festival appearances include the 2013 Young Concert Artists Festivals in Tokyo, Japan, and Beijing, China.

He has also appeared with the Meridian Symphony, Albany Symphony, and Longwood Symphony. As a winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Arutyunian was presented in YCA’s Rhoda Walker Teagle New York debut concert at Merkin Hall and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to rave reviews. His clarinet is a personal gift from the conductor and violinist Vladimir Spivakov. He receives general support for his career from the Guzik Foundation in California.

Yunqing Zhou began his piano studies at the age of seven. He came to the U.S. at 19 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music with Robert McDonald and Gary Graffman. A native of Shenyang, China, the 24-year-old pianist (whose first name means “pure melodic sound”) was a winner of the 2013 Young Concert Artists Auditions. He will make his New York recital debut next season at Merkin Hall, and his Washington, D.C. debut at the Kennedy Center. He won first prize in the 2013 Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, which brought him a full scholarship and an appearance on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase with Robert Sherman. Zhou has also won top prizes in the Gulangyu Piano Competition in Xiamen and at the China International Piano Competition, the Cleveland Piano Competition, and the Busoni Piano Competition in Italy. Zhou was awarded YCA’s Slomovic Prize, which provides support for his Kennedy Center debut next season, the John Browning Memorial Prize, and the Ruth Laredo Memorial Award. He has also received seven performance prizes.

Born in New York in 1992, violinist Hahnsol Kim began his studies at the age of five. He graduated from Yewon School in Korea in 2008 and from Seoul Arts High School in 2011. Kim won first prize at the Osaka International Music Competition in 2007, sixth prize at the International Violin Competition Sion Valais in 2009, and third prize at Dong-A Music Competition in 2010. He has performed all over the world, including Germany and the U.S. In December 2013, Kim won the DreamArts Showcase, a young artist competition. He is currently a student at the Juilliard School with Hyo Kang, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music.

As winners of so many prestigious awards and accolades, these three musicians are expected to thrill the audience at Weill Recital Hall with their talent and mastery of a program that includes selections by Weinberg, Saint-Saëns, Arutiunian, and Khachaturian. Tickets for the concert are $25 and may be purchased at the Carnegie Hall Box Office or by calling the Prelacy at (212) 689-7810.