Raffi Armenian, (born June 4, 1942) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. He directed the Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony orchestra for many years. Since 1999 he has been the director of Orchestral Studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. From 2008 to 2013 he was the director of the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

Early life and education

Armenian was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and had his first music lessons there, moving in 1959 to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study piano with

Bruno Seidlhofer Bruno Georg Seidlhofer (5 September 1905 – 19 February 1982) was an Austrian pianist, organist, academic teacher and piano teacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Life Born in Vienna, Seidlhofer taught piano at the Aca ...

. After graduating, he put his musical studies aside and attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 1962 to 1965, where he majored in metallurgy. He returned to the Vienna Academy of Music and studied from 1965 to 1969. In 1968, Armenian was one of two finalists at the International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon, France.

Career

Armenian emigrated to Canada in 1969 to become the assistant conductor of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, located in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. From 1971 to 1993, he was the Artistic Director and conductor of the

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

. Under Armenian's guidance, the K-W Symphony developed from an amateur ensemble in the mid-1970s to a professional orchestra. Armenian acted as the musical director of the Stratford Festival from 1973 to 1976, and founded the Stratford Festival Ensemble (later renamed the Canadian Chamber Ensemble) in 1974. Armenian made guest-conducting appearances with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec in 1974, the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

and the

National Arts Centre Orchestra The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) is a Canadian orchestra based in Ottawa, Ontario led by music director Alexander Shelley. The NAC Orchestra's primary concert venue is Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre. Since its incepti ...

in 1975, and conducted ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama '' Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at ...

'' for the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

in 1977. In 1986, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 1999 he became the director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Toronto. Armenian taught conducting at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, where he directed its symphony orchestra for 30 years. He was the Conservatoire's director from 2008 until 2013.

Selected recordings

*''Joyous light'' - Armenian sacred songs with

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian ( arm, Իզապէլ Պայրագտարեան; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an ...

, CBC. * ''Memories of Poland'', 1995 with Janina Fialkowska and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony * ''Mahler Lieder'', CBC Records. Singers Andreas Schmidt and Catherine Robbin, K-W Symphony."Mahler Lieder"
''Gramophone'', reviewed May 1992

References

External links

Biography at the Canadian Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenian, Raffi 1942 births Living people 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian conductors (music) Canadian people of Armenian descent Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal faculty Egyptian emigrants to Canada Egyptian expatriates in Austria Egyptian expatriates in the United Kingdom Egyptian people of Armenian descent Male conductors (music) Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Cairo Musicians from Kitchener, Ontario University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni