Pianist Tanya Bartevyan to perform at NAASR

2026-02-10 - 18:06

BELMONT, Mass. — The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will host a special musical performance by acclaimed pianist Tanya Bartevyan on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the NAASR Vartan Gregorian Building, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, Mass. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Belmont Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the performance, and all attendees are cordially invited. Bartevyan will present piano works by two great American composers: Florence Price (1887/88-1953) and Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee (b.1938), highlighting themes of identity and belonging. Both masters uniquely combine the classical genre with their ethnic cultural backgrounds. Price’s expressive piano sonata is a neo-romantic masterpiece, marked by haunting and joyful resonances of the African American musical idiom. She was the first woman of African American descent to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered her work in 1933. Goolkasian Rahbee’s lyrical and effervescent music blends a neo-impressionistic style with Armenian melodies and rhythms. Born in Somerville, Mass., she was educated at Juilliard and the Salzburg Mozarteum. Internationally recognized, Goolkasian Rahbee resides in Belmont. Bartevyan was born in Istanbul into the Armenian community and began her musical studies at age 3. She attended the Armenian Esayan Lycee for elementary school and the American Robert College Lycee for high school before moving to the United States to study at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music. She holds honors degrees from both institutions, with additional training in composition and orchestral conducting. The musical lineage of her mentors traces back to Beethoven and Liszt. Bartevyan has performed in major Boston-area venues and internationally. She has a lifelong interest in mathematics and the sciences, as well as in the intersections of art, science and social experience. She has also been active in theater and civic life, with a focus on truthful dialogue, transparent governance and environmental preservation. Bartevyan’s May 2025 concert titled “Freedom, Courage and Love,” featuring works by Florence Price and Beethoven, was part of Concord’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. For more information about this program, contact NAASR at hq@naasr.org.