Projects
PBS: Craft in America
PBS series Craft in America, episode “HARMONY,” traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to profile Aram and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra about composer Michael Schachter’s new violin concerto “Cycle of Life,” co-commissioned by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Knoxville Museum of Art. The concerto is inspired by artist Richard Jolley’s monumental glass sculpture, Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Dreams and the Wonder of Infinity, and will be premiered by violinist Tessa Lark, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and Aram in April 2022. Watch the episode preview below, stream the episode on the PBS Video App, craftinamerica.org, and pbs.org/craftinamerica, and watch the PBS broadcast premiere on December 10, 2021.
KSO1x1
KSO1x1 is a pandemic-time project conceived, coordinated, and edited by Aram, featuring 24 new pieces for unaccompanied instruments, commissioned by the KSO and its sponsors for members of the orchestra. Each piece will be digitally premiered between February-August 2021.
KSO Unstaged
Founded by Aram in his second season as music director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, with the help of a Futures Fund Grant from the League of American Orchestras, KSO Unstaged is series of multisensory music-centric experiences designed to place the KSO in settings where you wouldn’t expect to find them, presenting events co-curated with non-musical community partners. Past events include:
Craft - in partnership with Knox Brew Tours
Flight - in partnership with Cirrus Aircraft
Flow - in partnership with Real Hot Yoga, Breezeway Yoga and Glowing Body Yoga
Vision - in partnership with Bobbie Crews and the Knoxville Museum of Art
KSO Unstaged: Craft
KSO Unstaged: Flight
KSO Unstaged: Breathe
Conductor Carpool Karaoke
Inspired by Late Night with James Corden, this fun series of YouTube videos lets audience members get to know Aram and KSO guest artists a little bit better by hearing just what they’re listening to when they plug in the iPhone!
Candide
Made possible by a generous grant from the Roy Cockrum Foundation, Candide marked the 3rd collaboration between the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Clarence Brown Theatre, this time in celebration of the Bernstein Centenary, with the orchestra on stage and a central part of the action. Directed by Cal MacLean, conducted by Aram Demirjian, and featuring a cast of nationally-auditioned principals, local Knoxville professional actors and University of Tennessee Theater MA students, Candide was hailed as a watershed moment for both organizations in both local and national publications.
