‘From Folk Melody to Award-Winning Composition’: Composer Anna Grigorian Wins

BY DR. EDWARD ADOURIAN

Composer and concert pianist Anna Grigorian recently won first prize at the Music Teachers Association of California’s 2026 Composers Today contest.

Her original winning piece, called “Folkloresque,” is inspired by Komitas’s “Gakavig.” 

In the following interview with her husband, Dr. Edward Adourian, Grigorian discusses the cultural influences that impact her work and the significance of the award she recently won.

EDWARD ADOURIAN: Congratulations on winning First Prize at the 2026 MTAC Composers Today State Competition. What did this recognition mean to you personally and professionally?

ANNA GRIGORIAN: On a personal level, it meant validation of years of hard work and perseverance, especially considering the fact that I am an immigrant and a woman who constantly tries to juggle family responsibilities, work, and professional development. Professionally, it meant that I have skills beyond teaching and performing. The composition process proved to be the most demanding in terms of commitment and the array of skills needed to see a project through.

E.A.: Your composition is based on an Armenian folk tune “Gakavig,” collected by Komitas, early 20th century Armenian ethno-musicologist and composer. Why did you choose this particular tune?

A.G.: I am ethnically Armenian, which, in my personal view, means belonging to an endangered people. Our country and its population are very small, and our history is one of continued struggle, loss, and rebirth. As an Armenian, I wanted to do something to put my country and my people on the map. Choosing Komitas was an intuitive decision. Ordained as a monk, his passion was collecting and preserving Armenian folk material from the regions of Western Armenia, which were eventually depopulated due to the Genocide of 1915. Using this ancient and, at the same time, timeless material was, in my view, an effort to bring this music to the modern listener and a wider audience.

E.A.: How did you transform a traditional folk melody into a contemporary concert work while preserving its original spirit?

A.G.: I intentionally picked a tune that I considered to be the most catchy melodically and the most harmonically conventional. I wanted the original tune to be heard clearly, with its pure folk innocence and beauty, but at the same time my goal was to develop it into a complex work, interesting enough for a professional musician to appreciate and beautiful enough for the audience to become excited about.

E.A.: You are known primarily as a concert pianist and educator. How do performing and teaching influence your work as a composer?

A.G.: As an educator, you constantly pay attention to notation, musical form, texture, storytelling, logic, and the flow of a composition. As a performer, you add another dimension by considering how accessible and exciting the music will be for the audience. Since I am a very visual learner, I also pay close attention to how the pianist will perceive the printed page. Therefore, I am very thoughtful about every detail, from choosing time and key signatures to dynamics, articulation markings, and page layout.

E.A.: As someone born in Georgia to an Armenian family and now living in the United States, how has your multicultural background shaped your musical voice?

A.G.: Growing up in Tbilisi, Georgia, one of the most multicultural cities in Transcaucasia, I was exposed to the music and cultures of many different ethnic groups: Georgians, Armenians, Kurds, Russians, and Jews, who lived together in harmony in this welcoming city. The rhythms and melodies of folk instruments, often heard in the streets during various celebrations, became the musical lexicon within which I operate as a composer. Moving to the United States has allowed me to continue my professional growth and to set higher goals, which I view as attainable in this great country.

E.A.: Contemporary classical music sometimes struggles to connect with audiences. How can composers build bridges between tradition and modern _expression_?

A.G.: When I was a student at the conservatory in Yerevan, I remember one of our professors discussing the notion of an individualistic approach to composition versus a community-centered approach. In the first approach, the goal is to be original and innovative at any expense and for its own sake. In the second, the goal is to become the voice of your people. Because of the culture in which I grew up, I definitely see myself as someone who belongs to, represents, and serves a community. While my compositional point of view and musical language are deeply rooted in my ancient heritage, my motivation and purpose are to bring beautiful and soulful music to the broader community of music lovers, regardless of nationality or cultural background.

Music is a universal language, and if the aim is to transmit a positive message of hope and love, then I have reached the ultimate goal as a composer.

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