Ani Kalayjian
Guest Musician
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “representing the young, up-and-coming generation,” and a “superb cellist with with a large, expressive, singing tone, passionate musicianship, and magnificent playing" by Journal Tribune, Grand Prize Winner of the International Chamber Music Competition of New England, Armenian-American cellist Ani Kalayjian enjoys an exciting career that has taken her to Japan, Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United Sates, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Recognized for her innovative programs and passionate about expressing her performances to a wide audience, Ani has performed music from hospitals to concert halls, nursing homes, fundraisers and schools among other communities. Most recently, she performed Haydn, Beethoven, & Schubert for the Princes of Qatar & Princess Eugenie of England at the Frick Museum as well as Brahms chamber music for the co-founder of Facebook. This season will include tours around the United States as a chamber music artist on the Saugerties ProMusica series in NY, American String Project in Seattle, Brooklyn Historical Society in NY, Fortuna Concert Series in CA, Ridotto Series, Concerts International Memphis, among others and a commissioned world premiere by Polina Nazakinskaya as well as her debut at the Chateau de la Moutte festival in St. Tropez. She has toured Lebanon several times in the 2015-2016 season performing as soloist and chamber musician, and principal cellist of the Lebanese Philharmonic with outreach performances at St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Hospital, Insan School, Karageusian Foundation for Syrian & Iraqi refugees, and the Byblos Armenian Genocide orphanage. She will also tour with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra this fall with performances in Minnesota, 92nd St. Y, residency at Dartmouth, and a European tour to Italy, Germany, & Austria.
Recent chamber music performances have included appearances at IMS Prussia Cove in England, Lark Chamber Music Society and La Jolla Chamber Music Festival in California, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festivals as a Shouse Artist in Michigan, BargeMusic in NY, American String Project in Seattle, Camerata Nordica in a U.S. and Swedish tour, Lichfield Festival in England, and a Weill Recital Debut at Carnegie Hall. She has performed at numerous universities around the US, including Harvard, Colombia, Dartmouth, Colby, Bates, Eastern Nazarene, Trinity, among others. Her competition successes includes winning the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust competition in England as a soloist where she was also granted the Bohuslav Martinu Foundation Prize, as well as a top prize at the J.C. Arriaga chamber music competition with Sima Trio. She has also enjoyed collaborations with such musicians as Ani Kavafian, Jorja Fleezanis, Andres Cardenes, Kim Kashkashian, among others, and has served as co-artistic director of AGBU’s Performing Artists at Weill Recital Hall.
She has performed at major venues in the USA, such as Rutgers Zimmerli Arts Museum in New Brunswick, Dweck Center in Brooklyn, Saugerties ProMusica Series in New York, Avalon Theater in Easton, MD, Parish Hall in Wye Mills, MD, Ridotto series in Huntington, NY, Little Rock Chamber Music Society in Arkansas, Fortuna Music Club and Fort Bragg Arts Center in California, Izumi Hall in Osaka, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, among others.
Ani was one of two cellists accepted into the inaugural season of David Finckel and Wu Han’s Music@Menlo festival. She has also taken part in Michael Tilson Thomas’ Carnegie Hall workshop in NY, Pablo Casals Prades festival in France, Mendelsohn on Mull in Scotland, Banff in Canada, Sarasota/FL, Apeldoorn/Holland, London Masterclasses, New York String Seminar, Holland Music Sessions and the RNCM International Cello Festival in England. At Prussia Cove, she was featured in a BBC documentary playing in a masterclass with Steven Isserlis. Undergraduate studies were at Mannes College of Music as a student of Timothy Eddy. Ani completed her Masters degree with Distinction at the Royal Northern College of Music as a student of Ralph Kirshbaum.