As a young child, Ara Dinkjian was told by his father, famous singer and musician Onnik Dinkjian not to touch the oud hanging on the wall of his parents’ bedroom. 5-year-old Ara was intrigued and did precisely the opposite, trying to teach himself to play. Now, he’s one of the best oud players in the world, a composer, researcher and ethnomusicologist and in his own words, ‘the luckiest person in the world’.
We are also very lucky at the Armenian Institute as not only we have the immense honour of working and collaborating with Ara for The Notes That Bind Us concert, but also sat down with him to talk about the magical influence of music on the Armenian American communities after the Genocide. Ara is in conversation with our trustee Richard Anooshian, who has his own very deep personal connection to the New York Armenian music scene through his choreographer father, Arsen Anooshian – who taught Ara dance (although he still chose oud!). The conversation is led by the Armenian Institute’s director Tatevik Ayvazyan.
Zanazan Sounds is also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.