Michelle Ekizian

Source: Armenian Reporter International, April 6, 1996, page 20

With the opening of the National Symphony Orchestra's 65th season, the NSO began a project honoring the anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Music Director Designate Leonard Slatkin and the NSO have commissioned a series of 25 fanfares featuring a range of instrumental combinations from 25 composers. Among these is Michelle Ekizian. The commissioned works are made possible by the generosity of John and June Hechinger.

Michelle Ekizian was born in 1956 in New York. She earned degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University, and has received fellowships from the John Solomon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and was awarded the American Prix de Rome in 1988 from the American Academy in Rome. She has had her music performed in the United States and in Europe, and has received numerous awards and travel grants.

Michelle Ekizian is noted for the way her works reflect the nature of her Armenian heritage. Her fanfare, entitled Slow Apocolypse: Fanfare for Orchestra Manque was first performed by the NSO in 1995.

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