Slava Grigoryan (born 1976) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

classical guitarist and

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

. He frequently collaborates and performs with his younger brother, fellow guitarist Leonard Grigoryan, performing as the Grigoryan Brothers.

Early life

He was born in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

to Eduard and Irina Grigoryan, both professional

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ists. His family emigrated to Australia in 1981 and he was raised in Melbourne. Grigoryan began to study guitar with his father at the age of seven. By the age of twelve, he was performing professionally and made his solo debut in Sydney at fourteen. He attended Caulfield Junior College (then known as Caulfield North Central School) and

St Michael's Grammar School , motto_translation = For the Church of God , location = 25 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , ...

, during which time he studied with Ron Payne, and, later, at the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

Career

Following his win at the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, where he was the youngest finalist in the history of that competition, Grigoryan signed with

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

in 1995 for whom he released four solo albums. Since then he has toured extensively in Australia, Europe, North America and Asia; he made his

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

debut in 1997. He changed

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

to ABC Classics in 2001 and subsequently released another solo album and an album recorded with his younger brother, Leonard. Frequent collaborators, the pair perform as Grigoryan Brothers and have released five albums, all of which have been nominated for

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

. In 2014 Grigoryan Brothers released ''This Time'' which has been well reviewed. Some of their previous releases include ''The Seasons'' and ''Distance''. Grigoryan also joined with fellow Australian musicians

Anthony Field Anthony Donald Joseph Field, AM (born 8 May 1963) is an Australian musician, actor, songwriter and producer. He is best known as a leader of the children's group the Wiggles and a member of the 1980s and 1990s pop band the Cockroaches. While s ...

Karin Schaupp Karin Schaupp (born 1972) is a German-born Australian classical guitarist. She has won APRA Music Awards and ARIA Music Awards. Early life Karin Schaupp was born in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany, in 1972. Her mother, Isolde Schaupp, was a teacher ...

and

Gareth Koch Gareth Koch (born 6 April 1962) is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist of German/ Anglo-Irish/ Lithuanian heritage. Biography Gareth Koch was born in Milan to novelist Christopher Koch and Irene Vilnonis, a Conservatorium-t ...

to release albums under the group name Saffire. Field was later replaced by Leonard (see Saffire article). He has been artistic director of the

Adelaide Guitar Festival The Adelaide Guitar Festival (AGF), formerly the Adelaide International Guitar Festival (AGIF) is Australia's largest guitar festival, held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The AGF is the sister event to the New York Guitar ...

since 2010.

Personal life

Grigoryan has two children Isabella and Paolo from his first marriage. He married cellist Sharon Draper in December 2016 and their son Sebastian was born in July 2018.

Discography

Awards and recognition

In addition to his achievement in the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, he has won a number of awards including

Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territ ...

for the Arts in 1998, the

Mo award The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2001. In 2000 he appeared as a soloist with the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appo ...

and was part of the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Arts Festival.

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

AIR Awards of 2017 The AIR Awards of 2017 is the eleventh annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on 27 July 2017. This is the first ...

, ''Bach Cello Suites Vol 1'' , Best Independent Classical Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2018 The AIR Awards of 2018 is the twelfth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 26 July 2017. In 2018, ...

, ''Bach: Cello Suites Volume II'' , Best Independent Classical Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2019 The AIR Awards of 2019 is the thirteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Freemasons Hall Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 25 July 2019. The awa ...

, ''Bach Concertos'' , Best Independent Classical Album , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2022 The 2022 AIR Awards is the sixteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards ceremony (generally known as the AIR Awards). It took place on 4 August 2022 in Adelaide. The nominations were revealed on 18 May 2022 wi ...

, ''This Is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia'' , Best Independent Classical Album or EP , , -

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Slava Grigoryan won his first

ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

for ''Sonatas & Fantasies'' in 2002. In total, he has won four.Slava Grigoryan at the ARIA Music Awards: * 1995 winners and nominees: * 1998 winners and nominees: * 2002 winners and nominees: * 2003 winners and nominees: * 2004 winners and nominees: * 2005 winners and nominees: * 2006 winners and nominees: * 2007 winners and nominees: * 2008 winners and nominees: * 2009 winners and nominees: * 2011 winners and nominees: * 2012 winners and nominees: * 2015 winners and nominees: * 2017 winners and nominees: * 2018 Fine Arts Awards winners and nominees: * 2020 ARIA Awards winners and nominees: , - , ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, , ''Spirit of Spain'' , ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , , - , ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, , ''Dance of the Angels'' , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2002 , , ''Sonatas & Fantasies'' , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2003 , , ''Play'' (Slava Grigoryan and Leonard Grigoryan) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2004 , , ''Brazil'' (Slava Grigoryan and Jane Rutter) , ,

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

, , , - , , 2005 , , ''Afterimage'' , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2006 , , ''Rodrigo Guitar Concertos '' (Slava Grigoryan, Leonard Grigoryan, Queensland Orchestra, Brett Kelly) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2007 , , ''Impressions'' (Slava Grigoryan and Leonard Grigoryan) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , ''Baroque Guitar Concertos '' (Slava Grigoryan,

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestr ...

, Benjamin Northey) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2009 , , ''Distance'' (Slava Grigoryan and Leonard Grigoryan) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2011 , , ''Band of Brothers'' (Slava Grigoryan, Leonard Grigoryan, Joseph Tawadros, James Tawadros) , , Best World Music Album , , , - , ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, , ''My Latin Heart'' (Jose Carbo with Slava Grigoryan and Leonard Grigoryan) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , 2015 , , ''This Time'' (Grigoryan Brothers) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , rowspan="3",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, , ''Bach: Cello Suites Volume I'' , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , ''Songs Without Words'' (Grigoryan Brothers) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , , ''

Ali's Wedding (soundtrack) ''Ali's Wedding (soundtrack)'' is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 2017 Australian romantic comedy Ali's Wedding, of the same name starring Osamah Sami and Don Hany. The soundtrack is credited to Nigel Westlake, Sydney Symphony Orc ...

'' ( Nigel Westlake & Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with Joseph Tawadros, Slava Grigoryan &

Lior Lior Attar, better known simply as Lior, is an independent Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. He is best known for his 2005 debut studio album ''Autumn Flow'' and for the song "Hoot's Lullaby". Early life and education Lior was bo ...

) , , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , , - , ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, , ''Bach: Cello Suites Volume II'' , , Best Classical Album , , , - , ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , ''Bach Concertos'' (Grigoryan Brothers, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra & Benjamin Northey) , , Best Classical Album , , , - , rowspan="2",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, ''Our Place: Duets for Cello and Guitar'' , Best Classical Album , , - , ''A Boy Called Sailboat'' (Grigoryan Brothers) , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , - , ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, , ''This Is Us (A Musical Reflection of Australia)'' (Grigoryan Brothers) , , Best Classical Album , , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Slava Grigoryan won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 2000 , Slava Grigoryan , Instrumental Performer of the Year , , - , 2004 , Slava Grigoryan , Instrumental Performer of the Year , , -

South Australian Music Awards

The South Australian Music Awards (previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012. , - , 2019 , Slava and Leonard Grigoryan with Beijing Duo , Best International Collaboration , , -

References

External links

The Grigoryan Brothers, Slava and Leonard's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigoryan, Slava 1976 births ARIA Award winners Australian classical guitarists Australian people of Armenian descent Kazakhstani people of Armenian descent Living people Musicians from Melbourne People educated at St Michael's Grammar School Australian male guitarists 20th-century Australian musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century guitarists 21st-century Australian musicians 21st-century classical musicians 21st-century guitarists 20th-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian male musicians Victorian College of the Arts alumni Soviet emigrants to Australia