KAREN TCHOUGOURIAN WOWS MELBOURNE SENIORS WITH HIS PIANO VIRTUOSITY
By Maura O’Neal
Advocate Weekly
S ept 11 2008
MA
Photo: Karen Tchougourian Classical pianist Karen Tchougourian is so
popular at EPOCH Assisted
PITTSFIELD – When Karen Tchougourian, an accomplished classical
pianist, performs for the residents and guests of EPOCH Assisted
Living at Melbourne, he brings no sheet music.
Yet, for more than an hour each month, he dazzles the audience with
complicated classical pieces he has successfully played in high-level
competitions around the world.
Born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia, Tchougourian has been playing
the piano since the age of 7. He has played in major venues from his
native Yerevan to Carnegie Hall in New York City. His competitive
efforts have paid off with top prizes in the Mozart International
Competition, the Schumann Piano Competition and the Arkansas State
University Piano Competition, among other awards.
Through his piano virtuosity and humble comportment, Tchougourian
has established a fan club of sorts among the residents at EPOCH of
Melbourne, where he has been playing nearly every month for more than
two years. (His next performance is Oct. 3.)
"I love to just watch him play. His hands are so graceful," said
Gertrude Treat, a resident at EPOCH.
Tchougourian’s performances have taken on a special importance
for residents of Melbourne. They look forward to his concerts, and
Tchougourian himself has noticed how audience members are rejuvenated
and energized after an afternoon’s performance.
Unwilling to name a specific performance that was especially memorable,
Tchougourian
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said he strives to make every performance special. If he isn’t moved by
every performance, he doesn’t feel like his audience will be, either.
"It’s a two-way street," he said. "As much as the residents enjoy it,
I get a kick out of it myself, too."
To keep his performances fresh, Tchougourian improvises on popular
songs from the East and West.
"I’m open to many styles and try to mix a variety of styles into my
performances," he said. He blends classical pieces with Broadway
standards and his own arrangements of popular music from many
different eras.
Tchougourian challenges himself to learn one or two new songs for
each performance, but also recognizes that audiences enjoy hearing
some familiar pieces as well. Treat has requested "Jesu, Joy of Man’s
Desiring" several times, and Tchougourian always happily obliges.
As far as arriving to play with no sheet music, Tchougourian explained
with a soft laugh, "So far I haven’t had any problems remembering
the songs. I just have a hard time thinking what to play next."
Many EPOCH residents would be pleased if Tchougourian performed more
than just once a month.
"I wouldn’t miss a performance for the world," said resident Irving
Zinberg, for whom a birthday performance was especially memorable. "It
was his usual, excellent piano playing. I was very grateful for the
birthday gift." That gift? Tchougourian played an Armenian song –
Zinberg’s birthday request.
Zinberg and Treat are certainly not alone in their
sentiments. Tchougourian plays to near-capacity crowds in EPOCH at
Melbourne’s great room, where he tickles the ivories of the majestic
grand piano, located just beneath a wall of large bay windows that
open up to the breathtaking Berkshire landscape behind him.
"When Karen performs, the music fills the atrium and flows from our
great room throughout the first floor. Even if you’re not in the room,
you’re surrounded by this beautiful music," said Diane Weinstein,
executive director of EPOCH at Melbourne. "It’s wonderful."
Karen Tchougourian will play at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at EPOCH
Assisted Living, 140 Melbourne Road, Pittsfield. The public is
invited and the concert is free, but reservations are requested. Info:
413-499-1992.