Ani Aznavoorian

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a “cellist who shows great sensitivity and great virtuosity at all moments,” Ani Aznavoorian is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician with some of the world’s most recognized ensembles. She has appeared with leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Tokyo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, International Sejong Soloists, Indianapolis Philharmonic, San Jose Symphony, Concertante di Chicago, and the Edmonton Symphony, and has also appeared as recitalist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Italy, France, Finland, Yugoslavia, Japan, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and Canada.

Aznavoorian’s awards include the Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award, first prizes in the Illinois Young Performers Competition (televised live on PBS with the Chicago Symphony), the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Music Scholarship Competition, the Chicago Cello Society National Competition, the Julius Stulberg Competition, the American String Teachers Association Competition, the International Paulo Competition, and the National Foundation for the Arts Recognition and Talent Search.

Ms. Aznavoorian enjoys performing new music and has made the world premieres of two important pieces in the cello repertoire: Ezra Laderman’s Concerto No. 2, with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic conducted by Lawrence Leighton Smith, and Lera Auerbach’s 24 Preludes for violincello and piano on stage at the Hamburg Staatsoper with the Hamburg State Ballet. An avid chamber musician, Ani has performed with Gil Shaham, Cho-Liang Lin, Sarah Chang, Eugenia Zukerman, Edgar Meyer, Ruth Laredo, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Pacifica Quartet, and the Shanghai Quartet. She is a member of the renowned string ensemble the International Sejong Soloists, and is also a founding member of the Corinthian Trio with pianist Adam Neiman and violinist Stefan Milenkovich. Aznavoorian also performs frequently on the Jupiter Chamber Music series in New York. She proudly performs on a cello made by her father, Peter Aznavoorian.

Ani Aznavoorian received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, where she studied with Aldo Parisot. She is principal cellist of Camerata Pacifica, has been on the faculty at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, and during the summers serves on the faculty of the Great Mountains Music Festival and School in South Korea.