ARAM DEMIRJIAN

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BIOGRAPHY

Winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award from The Solti Foundation U.S., conductor Aram Demirjian has built a reputation as an insightful interpreter of the symphonic repertoire and drawn praise for his "rejuvenating" (Washington Post) leadership as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO). Widely considered a compelling, “even electric” (San Francisco Classical Voice) presence on the podium, he is sought after for his “graceful, energetic direction” (Sarasota Herald Tribune), dynamic programs that broaden the idea of what one can expect to see on the symphonic stage, and distinctive ability to speak to, cultivate, and connect with audiences.

As the eighth Music Director of the KSO, Aram has led the orchestra to new artistic heights and national distinction for its achievements. A devoted champion of American music, he has grown the ensemble’s repertoire through bold programming with broad audience appeal, and he has made new music and commissioning central to the orchestra’s artistic identity. Aram is also increasingly in demand as a guest conductor, particularly for his interpretation of Handel's Messiah, which he has led in recent years with the Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony in a debut that was praised as “a winning combination of vocal excellence and imaginative interpretation… no ordinary Messiah performance” (Seattle Times). Aram’s Messiah can be heard in concerts with the Charlotte and Knoxville symphonies in the upcoming season.

Following the completion of the KSO’s landmark 9 for 90 project, celebrating the orchestra’s 90th anniversary with 9 world premieres across a single season, the 2026-27 season sees Aram lead the KSO in a season-long exploration of American poetry and American music. Highlights include the Tennessee premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Songfest, a massive song cycle written for the Bicentennial of the United States and featuring texts by 13 American poets; a concert of choral works with texts by American poets performed by a festival choir composed of student choirs from the region; and the appointment of the KSO’s first poet-in-residence, Rhea Carmon, who will create new poetry for the orchestra’s subscription series and participate in a range of education and community partnership initiatives, including writing a new poetic story accompanying Britten’s A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Aram’s season also includes collaborations with pianists Jeremy Denk and Jonathan Biss as well as cellist Sterling Elliott, his first-ever performances of Brahms’ A German Requiem, and a return to the internationally renowned Big Ears Festival.

Highlights of Aram’s most recent season include his return to The Philadelphia Orchestra for its 125th season, his debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and his return to the Mostly Modern Festival. Other recent season favorites include Aram’s debut with the San Diego Symphony that drew praise for “his majestic but rigorously detailed account of [Beethoven's] Fifth Symphony” (San Diego Story), as well as appearances with the symphonies of Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, North Carolina, Omaha, St. Louis, Tucson, and Utah; the Louisiana, Orlando, and Rhode Island philharmonics; the Florida, Minnesota, and Sarasota orchestras; plus festival appearances at Oregon Bach Festival and Tanglewood Music Center. Internationally, Aram has conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Orchéstre Métropolitain de Montréal.

Under Aram's leadership, the KSO has executed several ambitious commissions including Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto: Cycle of Life, co-commissioned by the KSO and Knoxville Museum of Art; Derrick Skye's Between Suns in collaboration with Knoxville-based drum ensemble Indigenous Vibes; and #KSO1x1, a set of 24 digitally-premiered commissions for solo KSO musicians. Highlights of artistic collaborations within the Knoxville community have included a fully-staged production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide with Clarence Brown Theatre; annual free site-integrated chamber music performances at the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum; and performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony incorporating an ensemble from Tennessee School for the Deaf performing the Ode to Joy in American Sign Language. In 2020, the KSO was selected to feature at SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, presented by The Kennedy Center and Washington Performing Arts.

Throughout his career, Aram has worked with an illustrious roster of artists including Julia Bullock, Michelle Cann, Lara Downs, Vadim Gluzman, Augustin Hadelich, Paul Huang, Stefan Jackiw, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Midori, Nicholas Phan, Jason Vieaux, and Joyce Yang. At ease with a breadth of musical vocabularies, he has also performed with an eclectic assortment of artists from other genres, including Ben Folds, Bill Frisell, Shabaka Hutchings, John Lithgow, Aoife O'Donovan, Shara Nova, and Bobby Watson. Aram has had the great pleasure of mentoring future generations of young musicians through work with the New England Conservatory, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Massachusetts All-State Orchestra, Mostly Modern Festival Orchestra, and as a clinician and guest lecturer at numerous colleges, conservatories, and grade schools in the cities that have been his professional homes.

In addition to being honored with the 2020 Solti Award, Aram received the 2017 and 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, and a 2018 Solti Foundation U.S. Buccheri Opera Residency with Lyric Opera of Chicago. From 2012 to 2016, he served as Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony.

The proud child of an immigrant family, Aram is American-born and of Armenian descent. He holds a joint Bachelor of Arts in Music and Government from Harvard University, and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from New England Conservatory. A native of the Boston area, he currently resides in Knoxville with his wife, Caraline, their daughter, Ani, and their goldendoodle, Kermit.

For more information, please visit www.aramdemirjian.com.

2026/2027
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