"Pogossian is not the flashiest violinist you'll hear, but there are very few who can take the music to the soul the way he can" UW Gazette (Canada)

Since making his critically acclaimed American debut with the Boston Pops performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in 1990, violinist Movses Pogossian has embarked on multi-faceted career as a soloist, avid chamber musician, enthusiastic propagate of new music, sought-after teacher. He studied in his native Armenia with Levon Zorian and Villy Mokatzian, and later under D. Oistrakh's pupil Valery Klimov at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he completed his Doctorate. At the age of 19, Movses Pogossian became the youngest ever First Prize winner of the Seventh all-USSR National Violin Competition (1985), the previous winners of which included David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer. Mr. Pogossian later went on to win prizes at the 1986 Thaikovsky International Competition in Moscow and at the 1991 Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy. Having performed with major Russian orchestras including the Moscow Philharmonic, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and the State Philharmonic Orchestras of Estonia, Georgia and Armenia, Mr. Pogossian has also soloed with the Brandenburger Symphoniker and Halle Philharmonic in Germany, Sudety Philharmonic in Poland and Italy, New Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria, and the Tucson Symphony, Arlington Symphony, El Paso Symphony, Buffalo Sinfonietta, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in the USA. His recital appearances have taken him to the major concert halls of Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Sofia, Linz, Wellington (New Zealand), Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, among others.   In 1989, Movses Pogossian was the first Soviet musician who received Fellowship at the world-renowned Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, where he was awarded Boston Symphony Orchestra's Pierre Mayer Award for outstanding musicianship, and collaborated with artists such L.Bernstein, Yo Yo Ma, S. Ozawa and others. While in Tanglewood, he met the legendary violinist and pedagogue Louis Krasner and studied privately with him for several years until Mr. Krasner's death in 1994. Under his influence, Movses Pogossian took great interest in both chamber and new music. He regularly participates in several well-known festivals such as El Paso Pro Musica, Olympic Chamber Festival, and June in Buffalo, and has performed chamber music with the members of the Tokyo, Kronos, Brentano, Borromeo, Blair, and Audubon String Quartets, and with many other prominent musicians. Additionally, Mr. Pogossian frequently collaborates with the New Hampshire-based Apple Hill Chamber Players. Most recently, he participated in Apple Hill's several internationally acclaimed "Playing for Peace" Tours, which took him to Middle East, England, China, and Transcaucasus. Since 1992, Movses Pogossian returns annually to Apple Hill's Summer Chamber Music Festival and School where he is a member of the artist faculty.   Mr. Pogossian's most recent new music projects include an upcoming December 2007 release of G. Kurtag's monumental "Kafka Fragments" for soprano and violin on Bridge Records label, World Premiere performance of Augusta Read Thomas' Pulsar (2004) for solo violin, World Premiere of Jeffrey Stadelman's Violin Concerto with the Slee Sinfonietta in April 2004, World Premieres of Trios by Vache Sharafyan and Jonathan Golove with the Baird Trio at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall (2004), and "Blooming Sounds", solo violin CD featuring Premiere recordings of works by A.R.Thomas, L.Segerstam, D.Felder, V.Sharafyan, A.Khoudoyan, released in December 2005 on Albany label. Movses Pogossian's new music discography includes Chris Theofanidis' "On the edge of the infinite" for violin and orchestra on Albany label, and George Walker's String Quartet no. 2 on Summit label. He has been honored to collaborate closely with G. Kurtag, A.R.Thomas, A.Arutunian, V.Sharafyan, D. Felder, and, as a Concertmaster of the June in Buffalo Festival Orchestra, he has worked with Philip Glass, John Harbison, Bernard Rands, Charles Wuorinen, John Corigliano, Jonathen Harvey.   Movses Pogossian has recorded for Bridge Records, Summit, Melodia, and Albany lebels, and has been frequently featured on National Public Radio's "Performance Today", WQED-FM Pittsburgh, WBJR Boston, and State Radios of Russia, Armenia and Estonia. He has been a Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the annual Shady Side Chamber Music Festival in Pittsburgh from 1995 till 2003. Mr. Pogossian was also Co-Founder of Passages, Community Chamber Music Initiative in Bowling Green, Ohio, the main purpose of which is bringing quality chamber music to the unusual concert venues including hospitals and nursing homes (1995-2000). He has previously served on the faculties of Duquesne, Bowling Green, Wayne State, and SUNY Buffalo Universities, and frequently conducts violin and chamber music masterclasses in the United States and abroad. He is currently Professor of Violin at UCLA, and is also the Artistic Director of the new Dilijan Chamber Music Series at Zipper Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Movses Pogossian lives in Glendale with his wife, LA Philharmonic violinist Varty Manouelian, and their three children.

RESUME EDUCATION Private Studies with Louis Krasner, Boston, 1990-94 Doctor of Musical Arts, Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music - Moscow, Russia, 1987-90 Diploma with Distinction, Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music - Moscow, 1985-90 Komitas Conservatory -Yerevan, Armenia, 1982-85   AWARDS and COMPETITIONS 1st Prize, USSR National Violin Competition - Tallinn, 1985 8th Prize, Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition - Moscow, 1986 5th Prize, Lipizer International Violin Competition - Italy, 1991 1st Prize, Transcaucasus Violin Competition - Baku, 1985 Pierre Mayer Award - Tanglewood Music Center, 1989   HIGHLIGHTS of SOLO APPEARANCES / RECITALS Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra - Harry Ellis Dickson, Cond. Brandenburger Symphoniker, Brandenburg, Germany - Heiko Forster, Cond. Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra - Veronika Doudarova, Cond. Moscow Chamber Orchestra - Constantine Orbelian, Cond. Hallishe Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle, Germany - Schaushpielhaus, Berlin Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble - Robin Fountain, Cond. Tucson Symphony Orchestra - Robert Bernhardt , Cond. Arlington Symphony Orchestra - Ruben Vartanian, Cond. Sudety Philharmonic Orchestra, Walbrzych, Poland - Travis Hatton, Cond. Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York - Magnus Martensson, Cond. New Symphony Orchestra, Sofia, Bulgaria - Rossen Milanov, Cond. State Philharmonic Orchestras of Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia Theatre de Paris, France; Academy of Music, Philadelphia; Schloss Hagenberg, Austria; Bulgaria Hall, Sofia, Bulgaria; Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand Recitals in Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles, Berlin, Montreal, Moscow, Kiev Repeat performances of Complete Violin Works of J.S.Bach in USA and Canada 1996-97, 2000-01 (Sergei Babayan, piano)   CHAMBER MUSIC Artistic Director, Dilijan Chamber Music Series, Los Angeles, CA, 2005-Present Shady Side Chamber Music Festival, Pittsburgh, Founder/co-Director, 1995-Present El Paso Chamber Music Festival, El Paso, TX, 1992-2002. Collaborations with members of Tokyo, Kronos, Brentano, Borromeo string quartets Apple Hill Chamber Music School and Festival, New Hampshire, 1992 - Present Playing for Peace Tours with Apple Hill Chamber Players - England, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, China, Transcaucasus - 1996-2002 Sebago-Long Lake Chamber Music Festival, Maine Olympic Music Festival, Seattle, WA June in Buffalo Contemporary Music Festival, Buffalo, NY St.Barthelemy Chamber Music Festival, French West Indies Pittsburgh Piano Trio - Founding Member, 1995-1998 Baird Piano Trio - Member, 2000 - Present   TEACHING EXPERIENCE University of California, Los Angeles - Professor, 2007 - Present SUNY at Buffalo, NY - Visiting Artist Teacher, 2000-2007 Wayne State University, Detroit, MI - Professor, 2000 - 2004 Bowling Green State University, OH - Assistant Professor, 1995 - 2000 Duquesne University School of Music, Pittsburgh, PA- Artist in Residence, 1992-95 Apple Hill Center of Chamber Music, NH, Guest Faculty Member, 1992 - Present Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music - Teaching Assistant, 1987-1990 Masterclasses in the former USSR, England, Israel, China and USA, 1990-Present   ORCHESTRA EXPERIENCE Concertmaster, Slee Sinfonietta, Buffalo, NY, 2001 - Present Concertmaster, Scandinavian Chamber Orchestra of New York City, 2002 - Present Concertmaster, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, 1989-90 Concertmaster, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Orchestra, 1986-87   RECORDINGS AND LIVE BROADCASTS Music of G.Faure, with Jane West and Apple Hill Chamber Players, Orion Label Music of George Walker, Summit Records C.Theofanidis- Violin Concerto, CD, Albany Records Duo Forza, Music of Spain and Latin America for violin and guitar Performance Today, National Public Radio, CBC, WBJR-FM, Boston, WQED-FM, Pittsburgh, East Berlin Radio, USSR Radio and TV   GRANTS/ PUBLICATIONS: BGSU Partnerships for Community Action Grant, 1997-2000 - over 50 concerts of chamber music in Nursing Homes and Hospitals of Bowling Green, OH MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, BGSU - Grants to commission Sonata for Two Violins by M.Martensson (1995); Sonata #2 for Violin by V. Sharafyan (1998) Faculty Research Grant, BGSU- "J.S.Bach's Major Works for Violin: Research, Preparation and Performance of the Cycle", 1996 "Armenian Violin Sonatas: History and Problems of Interpretation"  - Moscow State University Journal, Oct. 1990, Moscow (in Russian)

Duo Forza	Baird Trio	Dilijan Chamber Music Series

mpogossian@earthlink.net