He is a cellist and teacher born and raised in Sobhumi, Abkhazia, Soviet Union, to a family where his father was a dentist and his mother was a dancer. He learned the cello and music from a very young again and by the time he was twelve years old he was already performing with the National Philharmonic of Abkhaziah.
He emigrated to the United States in 1976 and since his arrival he has performed with numerous orchestras and ensembles on countless tours national and international. Working from his Californian base, he became a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as well taking on the position of soloist and/or principal cellist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Opus Chamber Orchestra.
Other orchestras and ensembles he has performed with are the Barkezian Ensemble, Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra, California String Quartet, Deutsche Opera Berlin, the Greene String Quartet, Los Angeles Opera, the Orquestra Sinfonica do Teatro Nacional de Brasilia, the Pacific Symphony, the Pasadena Symphony, the Santa Clarita Symphony and the Santa Monica Symphony, the Studio City String Quartet and the Stuttgart Ballet Orchestra.
Other artists, composers and conductors he has worked with on the stage or in the studio include John Adams, John Cage, Chick Corea, Counting Crows, Henry Mancini, The Manhattan Transfer, Randy Newman, the Rochelle Abramson Ensemble, Miklos Rosza, The Scorpions and John Williams to name just a few. He is also a regular performer at many music festivals.
As a member of the Armadillo String Quartet he has played in the 34.5 hour marathon of all the quartets by Haydn and was a performer in the world premiere of “The Moose” by the P.D.Q. Bach String Quartet during one of their Music by Peter Schickele concerts, which the Armadillo String Quartet stage every year.
Another orchestra he is a member of is the Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra and with them he has played on music for numerous animations and been a cameo character in Animaniacs. This is all alongside his studio performances on at least 900 movie soundtracks such as As Good as it Gets where he plays a solo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Color Purple, Disturbia, Expired, Letters from Iwo Jima, Marley & Me, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Revolutionary Road, Syriana and The War of the Worlds. He also performs annually with the Academy Awards Orchestra, who he has been a member of since 2004.
His recordings are far too many to mention, with more than 900 motion soundtracks to his credit, but just a very few of them include The Jekyll & Hyde Tour – P.D.Q. Bach by the Armadillo String Quartet, John Biggs: Chamber Music by the Barkezian Ensemble, Copland: Appalachian Spring Suite by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Entertaining with Style Vol. 1: Bon Appetit by the Studio City String Quartet and Common Ground by Gernot Wolfgang.
After being noticed on stage by a casting director, he was asked to take on the role of Juno’s limousine driver in True Lies in 1993. He proceeded to also perform the cello solo for his character’s death scene as a member of the orchestra that recorded the soundtrack.
In the world of musical education he teacher student cellists and was a masterclass performer with Jascha Heifetz by invitation in 1985.
Sources:
- http://www.armadillostringquartet.com/ArmenKsajikian.htm
- http://www.laco.org/artists/42/
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0473280/bio
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0473280/
- http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/1375025/Armen_Ksajikian
- http://www.classicalarchives.com/artist/6923.html#tv=albums
- http://www.scsymphony.com/armen-ksajikian.html
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:34708~T3
- http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=600703#
- http://www.musicfayre.com/music/name/armen_ksajikian.1058901.html.en
- http://www.dilettantemusic.com/artist/34708/albums
- http://www.palosverdes.com/sbcms/web8384.htm