Hasmik Vardanyan

Armenian cellist Hasmik Vardanyan has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in major concert halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, the Paris Opera House, Tchaikovsky Music Hall in Moscow, Berlin Opera House, St. John Smith Square in London, and the Munetsugu Hall in Japan. Mrs. Vardanyan is a top prizewinner in many national and international competitions. She won the second prize at the Aram Khachaturyan International Cello Competition in 2010. In 2011, she received first prize in Schlern International Cello Competition in Italy. In 2012, Mrs. Vardanyan received the Presidential Youth Award for the best performance in classical music, presented by the President of the Republic of Armenia. With the Vardanyan Piano Trio, she placed first in the Karen Kostanyan Chamber Music Competition in Yerevan in 2013.

She began her international appearances in 2005 as a soloist and principal cellist in the Second Dubai International Festival for Young Virtuosos. The same year, she started working with the Armenian State Youth Orchestra, performing in concert halls across Europe and Russia. In 2009, Mrs. Vardanyan was invited to perform with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. The same year she won the First Prize in the Komitas International Competition.

In addition to her appearances as a soloist and recitalist, Mrs. Vardanyan performed regularly as the cellist of the highly-esteemed Komitas National String Quartet of Armenia. The quartet performed in Poland, UAE, Japan, Norway, Denmark, France, Croatia, Moldova, and Russia. In 2010 the quartet recorded Komitas-Aslamazyan’s Miniatures, which received “The Best Classical Album” in the National Music Awards Ceremony.

In 2018–2019, Mrs. Vardanyan was a fellow in the DA CAMERA Young Artist program. In May 2019, she founded the RADIX Cello Quartet, which has received high acclaim from Armenian and foreign critics. The quartet’s concerts have been reviewed in the “NOR HARATCH” bilingual (Armenian-French) article in Paris, Beirut, and LA. The quartet has been invited to participate in the Tallowood Concert Series, the Southeastern Musical Art Series, the Concert Series of the Houston Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine, and a benefit concert for Armenian children organized by the City of Smile Charitable Foundation. Mrs. Vardanyan completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Houston University under the tutelage of distinguished cellists and pedagogues Vagram Saradjian, Anthony Elliott, and Estelle Choi.