For most Armenians, says Christina Azarian B.M. 17, being musical is simply part of their DNA. But the ability to afford a music education isn't so commonplace.
Azarian was commenting on this bind with the celebrated Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan when he came to Berklee last year to play the Middle Eastern Festival. He told her he wished that students back home could have access to a Berklee education, she says. It was a wish Hamasyan also discussed with President Roger H. Brown, who in turn asked him to identify two talented Armenian musicians to come to Berklee for the Five-Week Summer Performance Program, courtesy of the college.
Good News for Great Ears It was June when Tigran called me and casually said, Hey, so I'm considering you for a program at Berklee. Can you go?' bassist and vocalist Davit Paronikyan, 19, says. I probably asked five times if he meant the Berklee...I was shocked.
Drummer Arman Mnatsakanyan, 20, had a bit of fun with the news. Well, maybe. I have to think about it, he told his orchestra director, whom Hamasyan had contacted to inquire about Mnatsakanyan's availability. [The director] started explaining how great of an opportunity that was, and after five minutes I told him that I was kidding and I was stoked to go.
Both men knew Hamasyan, having met him at workshops and musical gatherings in Yerevan, where they attended Yerevan State Conservatory.
Hamasyan first noticed Paronikyan's talent at a master class he taught. He was standing out with his ability to improvise and he had a very nice feel on the bass, Hamasyan says. He has very good ears and if he practices hard he can become a great jazz musician.
When Hamasyan first heard Mnatsakanyan play, with one of his own former teachers, he knew that the drummer had a fresh sound and new ideas as well as great ears and needed to be in an environment where he can share his ideas with other talented young players like him. Mnatsakanyan, a jazz lover who comes from a family of musicians, has been playing drums since he was 12.
When Paronikyan was that age, he appeared on Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with his band, winning third place. His musical preferences tend toward funk, fusion, and hip-hop.
Watch Paronikyans Junior Eurovision performance:
Video of Compass Band - Sweetie Baby - Live - Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Coming to Berklee At Berklee, Paronikyan and Mnatsakanyan were both struck by the openness and lack of formality between student and professor, they say. I am used to much stricter relationships with teachers. Faculty doing push-ups in class is nothing I have ever seen! I loved it, Paronikyan said. The relationships with these faculty, and with fellow students, was the best part of their experience. That and the cafeteria pizza, Mnatsakanyan added.
One of those experiences was a private concert that the two put on for the local Armenian community, with Professor John Baboian on guitar. I could tell right away that they were good musicians with good musical instincts, belying their relatively young ages, Baboian says.
That instinct and those ears also got the attention of Berklee's scholarship office, which awarded Mnatsakanyan a partial scholarship for undergraduate study. If he's able to fund the rest of the cost, he says, he'll be at Berklee in a heartbeat after finishing conservatory. Paronikyan is also returning to the conservatory, and would like to continue playing in bands and to one day open his own recording studio.
There is just so much talent in Armenian kids, Azarian says. And we want them to be able to follow their dream of pursuing music; we want them to know its actually possible to create a career out of their passion.
Related categories:
News
Most Popular
Berklee City Music Awards Seven Full-Tuition Scholarships The young musicians were awarded the scholarships at a ceremony marking the end of the Five-Week Summer Performance Program.
Latest IMG_2532.JPG
Songwriting for Sony in Beijing Salem Davern shares writing tips from her experience at Sonys international songwriting camp.
Berklee Blogs
Faculty Member to Set Up Recording Studio in the Dominican Republic Chrissy Tignor, assistant professor of contemporary writing and production, will also conduct a recording workshop at Santo Domingo's Conservatorio Nacional de M sica.
How to Make the Most of Your Music Festival Experience Artists who have performed at festivals like Lollapalooza and SXSW through the Berklee Popular Music Institute give the inside scoop on how to make the experience the most it can be.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
For most Armenians, says Christina Azarian B.M. 17, being musical is simply part of their DNA. But the ability to afford a music education isn't so commonplace.
