Christine Tokatlian

PhD in Music/Music Performance, University of Chichester, BA in Music, Deree – The American College of Greece; Postgraduate Diploma in Performance, Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Piano Performance, Royal College of Music; Soloists’ Diploma, Piano, National Conservatory of Athens

Through my research and performance activities, particularly my PhD dissertation, Redefining Armenian Musical Identity (Chichester, 2023), I have focused on advancing the visibility of contemporary Armenian music. Key presentations include:

• Komitas: Musical Narratives and National Identity at the University of Chichester (2022), exploring Komitas’s blend of Armenian folk and Western classical styles.
• Sounds of Post-Genocide Armenia at The Birth of Contemporary Europe conference, Greece (2018), examining the evolution of Armenian musical expression after the genocide.
• Armenian Post-Independence Piano Music: Research in a Dead-End? at the IAML Congress, Latvia (2017), analyzing the limitations in Armenian music publications.
• Komitas: The Footprints of His Walks in the Music of Armenia; My Walk within the Piano Music of Armenia at the 10th Animart Festival, Delphi, Greece (2016), highlighting Komitas’s musical legacy and my personal journey in interpreting Armenian music.
• The Concept of Armenian-ness in Relation to Socialist-Realist and Avant-Garde Works at the IAML Congress, Istanbul (2013), discussing the role of identity in Armenian music through the case-study of Tigran Mansuryan.

My international performances and recordings highlight Armenian composers, including the album Armenian Piano Images, featuring works by Komitas, Khachaturian, and others, as a showcase of Armenian folk-classical synthesis.

I am also actively involved in performing new compositions, some written specifically for me, through collaborations with The Collective, a global network of composers and performers. This collaboration supports my research on contemporary scores and techniques.

With extensive experience as a jury member, festival organizer, and masterclass instructor, I was honored with the Athens Academy’s Eleni Myconiou Prize. Now, as an AEGEAS CNPC Fellow, I continue my research on Armenian music and collaboration with The Collective.