Mariam Nazarian (Piano)

Born: 1985 (?) - Armenia

The Armenian pianist and producer, Mariam Nazarian (stage name: Marie Nazar), was born into a family of musicians, who nurtured and shaped her early years as a musician. She began demonstrating prodigious musical abilities at an early age, and at the age of 6 started formal studies in piano performance under Zaven Parsamyan at the Tchaikovsky School of Music for gifted children in Yerevan, Armenia. She moved to the USA in 1996, continued her studies with Parsamyan at the St. John International School of the Arts in Maryville, Tennessee, and studied with Alexander Fiorillo at Temple University in Philadelphia until 1999.. She graduated cum laude from the Mannes College of Music in New York in 2005, completing her studies in three years; she holds a Master of Arts degree in performance practice from Harvard University. Her many awards include the Grand Prize of the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra's Young Artist Competition.

Since making her debut at the age of 8 with the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, Mariam Nazarian has performed with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg, Russia, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre, Philadelphia, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart at the Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, and the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Symphony Hall, Boston, among others.

Mariam Nazarian made her USA debut, in 1995, at the age of 14, with solo recitals in Washington, D.C., New York, Princeton, and Philadelphia, with subsequent appearances at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and the Ontario Music Festival in Ottawa, Canada, as well as in Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. Her performances have been broadcast on WRTI-FM in Philadelphia, WWFM and WPRB-FM in Princeton, WQXR-FM and the MetroGuide TV Channel in New York.

October 21, 1999, at the age of 16, Mariam Nazarian made her Carnegie Hall debut (under stage name Marie Nazar) as the youngest pianist in Carnegie’s history to have performed J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations BWV 988. In May 1999, she recorded her debut CD of the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), on a Steinway (like Murray Perahia) at SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center. The album was released under the label of Ardani Classics.

In addition to her activities as performer, Mariam Nazarian is an accomplished concert producer, having produced sold-out performances by such world-renowned ensembles as the Zürich Chamber Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester, Festival Strings Lucerne, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, and others.

Mariam Nazarian is part of the distinguished roster of Bösendorfer Artists.

Source: Classical Voice of North Carolina Website & PBase Website; NazarianMusic (February 2011; Photos by Hegine Nazarian)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2009); NazarianMusic (February 2011)

Marie Nazar: Short Biography | Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Classical Voice of North Carolina: Review

Oleg Moiseyenko's Stock Photography (PBase)