Photo: Desmond White
Mary Kouyoumdjian
Composer
Mary Kouyoumdjian (Composer) is a composer with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic palette that draws on her heritage, interest in music as documentary, and background in experimental composition to progressively blend the old with the new. She has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alarm Will Sound, Roomful of Teeth, OPERA America, Beth Morrison Projects, the American Composers Forum/JFund, International Contemporary Ensemble [ICE], Brooklyn Youth Chorus, REDSHIFT, the Nouveau Classical Project, Music of Remembrance, Friction Quartet, Experiments in Opera, and Ensemble Oktoplus. Her documentary work was recently presented by the NY Philharmonic Biennial and her residencies include Alarm Will Sound, Roulette/The Jerome Fund, Montalvo Arts, and Exploring the Metropolis.
Kouyoumdjian is pursuing her D.M.A. in Composition at Columbia University, holds an M.A. in Scoring for Film & Multimedia from New York University, and a B.A. in Music Composition from UC San Diego. Kouyoumdjian is a cofounder of the annual new music conference New Music Gathering, is Co-Artistic Director of Alaska’s new music festival Wild Shore New Music, and is on composition faculty at The New School’s Mannes Prep.
