Aram Kerovpyan
photo Karol Jarek
Aram Kerovpyan was born in Istanbul, Turkey, where, as a boy, he sang in the Armenian church. He learned to play the kanoun and studied the Middle-Eastern music system with master musician Saadeddin Öktenay. After moving to Paris in 1977, he devoted himself entirely to music, playing with various Near Eastern musicians. In 1980, Aram Kerovpyan joined Kotchnak, an ensemble performing Armenian folk and ashoug (troubadour) music. In 1985, he established the Akn ensemble specialising in Armenian liturgical chant. In 1990, he was appointed master singer of the Armenian Cathedral in Paris and started a training programme for the singing of modal liturgical chant, which evolved to become, in 1998, the Centre d’études du chant liturgique arménien. Parallel to his musical activities, Aram Kerovpyan participates in seminars and runs workshops in Europe and North America. He has a PhD in musicology and has published articles and books about the modal theory of Armenian liturgical music. Over the same period, he has been active in the world of theatre as a musician, teacher and composer, working with Arby Ovanessian, Simon Abgarian and Bruno Abraham-Kremer.
