Richard Avedis Hagopian (born April 3, 1937) is an Armenian-American
oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
player and a traditional
Armenian musician.
Hagopian achieved popularity in the 1960s and 70s as a member of the
Kef Time Band, performing ''kef'' music, a dance-oriented style of Armenian folk music popular with
diaspora communities.
Early life
Hagopian was born in
Fowler, California
Fowler (formerly, Fowler's Switch) is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. It is located within the San Joaquin Valley. It has a strong agricultural community, with lush grape vineyards and expansive farmland. Fowler is located s ...
to Armenian parents. He has been a musician since childhood, learning to play the
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 ...
and
clarinet at nine years old. He started playing the oud at age of 11.
At first he was self-taught, and then by invitation he studied Eastern (Ottoman Classical) music theory and oud under the Armenian kanun player
Kanuni Garbis Bakirgian. Hagopian also took lessons by correspondence from legendary blind Armenian oudist
Udi Hrant Kenkulian
Udi Hrant Kenkulian ( hy, Հրանդ Քենքուլեան; tr, Hrant Kenkülyan; 1901 – August 29, 1978), often referred to as Udi Hrant (lit. "oud-player Hrant") or as Hrant Emre ("Hrant of the soul") was an oud player of Turkish classica ...
of Istanbul, who in 1969 gave him the title of "Udi" (oud master), being one of the few to receive this title.
Career
Hagopian was a founding member of the Kef Time Band, which was formed in 1963 and gained fame in the next few decades. According to the liner notes of the 1968 LP ''Kef Time Las Vegas'', the Kef Time Band was formed originally as the band for a Las Vegas show called the ''Cleopatra Revue'', which ran at the
Flamingo Hotel
Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
The property includes a casino along with 3,4 ...
from 1963–1968. During this time the leader of the ''Cleopatra Revue'' band, Armenian-American ''
dumbeg'' player Buddy Sarkissian, met Hagopian and immediately hired him after hearing him play the oud and sing. This was the beginning of the Kef Time Band's career; they would go on to become the most famous band playing the "kef" style of dance music popular among the Armenian-American community.
Hagopian has performed throughout the United States and taught a master class at the
Manhattan School of Music, as well as teaching as artist-in-residence at
California State University
The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
. For over 30 years, Hagopian has played annually at "Kef Time" events at dance gatherings ("kefs") in Cape Cod, Hartford, and Detroit. He is a recipient of a 1989
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...
awarded by the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
His son is the violinist
Harold Hagopian
Harold G. Hagopian is an American violinist, entrepreneur, record producer and founder of Traditional Crossroads world music record label in 1993.
Biography
Hagopian is the son of Armenian-American oud virtuoso Richard Hagopian. His paternal g ...
, also a music producer who runs the independent
traditional music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
label
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 ...
Traditional Crossroads.
Discography
Albums
LP
*''Karoon Hayastan'', Varoujan Assadourian with Richard Hagopian and His Orchestra
*''An Evening at the Seventh Veil'', Richard Hagopian and His Orchestra (1964)
*''Kef Time Las Vegas'' (with the Kef Time Band)
*''Kef Time Fresno'' (with the Kef Time Band)
*''Kef Time Detroit'' (with the Kef Time Band)
*''Kef Time Hartford'' (with the Kef Time Band)
CD
In the Kef Time series CD reissues a few of the track listings have been rearranged, while certain songs were either placed on different albums or left out altogether.
*''Best of Armenian Folk Music'' (ARC, 1992)
*''Armenian Music Through the Ages'' (
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...
, 1993)
*''Gypsy Fire'' - Richard Hagopian and
Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Omer Faruk Tekbilek ( tr, Ömer Faruk Tekbilek, born 1951) is a Turkish musician and composer, who plays a wide range of wind, string, percussion and electronic instruments. He has developed a style that builds on traditional Sufi music, but inclu ...
(Traditional Crossroads, 1995)
*''Kef Time'' (reissue of ''Kef Time Las Vegas'' and ''Kef Time Fresno'', 1995)
*''Kef Time Detroit'' (reissue, 2002)
*''Kef Time Hartford'' (reissue, 2002)
References
External links
*
*
''Armenian Music Through the Ages'' Album Detailsat
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagopian, Richard
1937 births
Living people
People from Fowler, California
American oud players
American people of Armenian descent
Manhattan School of Music faculty
National Heritage Fellowship winners
Musicians from California
20th-century American musicians