Work Title: TBA

Commissioning Consortium: Fresno Philharmonic (lead), California Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

Premiere Date: 2026-2027 season by the Fresno Philharmonic

For the Fresno Philharmonic, the commission project with Kouyoumdjian will be part of a multi-season series of commissions called Cultural Crossroads which focus on the many diverse ethnic communities which make up California’s Central Valley. Kouyoumdjian says, “Much more will be solidified after my initial research visit to Fresno when I will have the opportunity to engage directly with the community, but our early brainstorming sessions about the piece have inspired me to work with the Armenian immigrant community of Fresno, which has historically been home to much of the Armenian diaspora. I am also drawn to the writings of Armenian-American author William Saroyan, whose work beautifully honored his local immigrant community in all of its vibrancy and humor through difficult circumstances. The work will bring these themes into a resonant and universal perspective that aims to connect with the local communities of the collaborating consortium orchestras, and will committedly strive to pull urgently needed focus on immigrant communities who are the very heart and soul of our country.”

Mary Kouyoumdjian is a composer and documentarian 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. A strong believer in freedom of speech and the arts as an amplifier of expression, her compositional work often integrates recorded testimonies with resilient individuals and field recordings of place to invite empathy by humanizing complex experiences around social and political conflict. A finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her live music-documentary Paper Pianos, Kouyoumdjian has received commissions for the New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Beth Morrison Projects/OPERA America, Alarm Will Sound, Bang on a Can, International Contemporary Ensemble, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Roomful of Teeth among others. Her work has been featured internationally at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MASS MoCA, the Barbican Centre, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Millennium Park, Benaroya Hall, Prototype Festival, Cabrillo Festival, Big Ears Festival, Cal Performances, SF Jazz, Tribeca Film Festival, and PBS. Recently her opera Adoration, adapted from Atom Egoyan’s 2008 film, received its west coast premiere at LA Opera, and her debut portrait album, WITNESS with the Kronos Quartet, was released through Phenotypic Recordings. Kouyoumdjian holds a D.M.A. and M.A. in Composition at Columbia University, an M.A. in Scoring for Film & Multimedia from New York University, and a B.A. in Composition from UC San Diego. She is on composition faculty at The New School.

Visit Mary Kouyoumdjian’s Website