Clarinetist Narek Arutyunian to Perform at Pepperdine University Next Month

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts continues its 2016-2017 Recital Series with a performance by the winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, clarinetist Narek Arutyunian, in Raitt Recital Hall at Pepperdine University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 12, 2017.

Tickets are currently sold out for this performance. To be put on a waitlist, contact (310) 506-4522 or visit arts.pepperdine.edu. More information about Narek Arutyunian available at www.yca.org/artist/narek-arutyunian.

The program will include Francis Poulenc's Sonata for clarinet and piano; Steve Reich's New York Counterpoint for Clarinet and Tape; Ivan Olenchik's Spanish Caprice for Clarinet Solo; Franz Lizst's Reminiscences de Norma; and Carl Maria Von Weber's Grand Duo Concertante for Clarinet and Piano.

Clarinetist Narek Arutyunian is an artist who "reaches passionate depths with seemingly effortless technical prowess and beguiling sensitivity" (The Washington Post). He has performed the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Alice Tully Hall as well as Artie Shaw's Concerto for Clarinet with The Boston Pops. Arutyunian has also appeared as soloist with the Meridian Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the Long Bay Symphony, and the Longwood Symphony. He has performed recitals at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, the Lied Center of Kansas, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, the Westport Arts Center, the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, Music for Youth, Iowa State University, Southern Adventist University, Missouri State University, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall.

Arutyunian has performed extensively in Australia, Asia, and in Europe, where he appeared at the Louvre in Paris and the Palazzo del Principe in Genoa, among others. He has appeared as soloist with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and in Russia with the Kaliningrad Philharmonic, the Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. Arutyunian's festival appearances include Juilliard ChamberFest, where he performed Osvaldo Golijov's The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, the New York Festival of Song, Krzyzowa Music Festival in Poland, Germany's Usedomer Musikfestival, Musica Viva's Huntington Estate and Sydney Festivals in Australia, the 2013 Young Concert Artists Festivals in Tokyo and Beijing, and the Marlboro Music Festival.

Winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, he was presented in debut recitals at Merkin Concert Hall and the Kennedy Center to rave reviews. By the age of 16, he had already won First Prizes in the International Young Musicians Competition in Prague and the Musical Youth of the Planet Competition in Moscow. He recorded the Weber Concertino for clarinet with the State Symphony Orchestra of New Russia.

Born in 1992 in Gyumri, Armenia, Arutyunian's family moved to Moscow when he was three. He graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory where he worked with Evgeny Petrov. He received his Bachelor's degree from the Juilliard School, where he worked with Charles Neidich. He is currently a Master's candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, where he continues his studies with Mr. Neidich. Arutyunian's clarinet is a personal gift from the conductor and violinist Vladimir Spivakov. He receives general support for his career from the Guzik Foundation in California.

The Recital Series at Pepperdine University has delighted audiences with new and emerging classical musicians since 1993. With intimate Sunday afternoon performances in Raitt Recital Hall, the series is nationally known for the high quality of its performances, the stunning location, the beautiful and acoustically superior venues, and the engagement and loyalty of its audience. Many of the featured artists have gone on to significant critical and professional acclaim, including cellist Johannes Moser, pianist Haochen Zhang, soprano Jessica Rivera, and cellist Alisa Weilerstein.

Upcoming performances in the 2016-2017 Recital Series include cellist Jacob Shaw on April 2 (sold out).

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people f­­rom 808 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.

THE DETAILS:

WHEN: Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 2 p.m.

WHERE: Raitt Recital Hall, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

TICKETS: (310) 506-4522 or arts.pepperdine.edu

PRICES: $28 for public; $10 for Pepperdine students; currently Sold Out