Hands-On Learning

To look at him, an observer would never guess that Aram Arakelyan gets impossibly nervous before each piano competition or performance.

 

Talking with him, Aram is impeccably polite and somewhat quiet. His English is near-perfect with the slight lilt of an accent, not quite identifiable. Occasionally, a mischievous laugh emerges along with a dazzling smile. To many, he would appear an average college student.

 

College student? Yes. Average? No.

 

Aram is among the prize-winning piano students who study with Utah State University’s Gary Amano, and he is the 2007 winner of the Kingsville International Piano Competition. The Kingsville title is his latest, but the road to the Texas competition was long, taking him on a journey he could never imagine.

 

Born in Armenia, Aram came to the United States to compete in the Gina Bachauer Junior International Competition for pianists ages 8-18. Following the competition, and with the help of a piano scholarship, he began his studies at Utah State University with Amano. Returning to Armenia is problematic but Aram prefers to put a positive spin on his situation. He misses his family, but staying in America allows him to focus on his future. One thing is clear — that future involves the piano and music.

 

“Yes, I miss my family, but when I left my home at age 17, I knew I wanted to come to the United States to study,” he said. “There is an 11-hour time difference between Utah and Armenia, but we talk on the telephone once a week — we call every Sunday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.”

 

That’s every week unless Aram is preparing for a competition. Then, he sometimes becomes so focused he forgets to be near a telephone. At that time the young pianist is working toward one goal — playing in the zone, a mental state that is comfortable and where everything is going as smoothly as possible at the piano.

 

Amano, who has been Aram’s teacher the five years he’s been at Utah State, said he is an extraordinary talent.

 

“When he came to Utah State, he was a high school student who was immature, sloppy in his playing and very disorganized in his practice,” Amano said. “It has taken a few years to help him realize his wonderful potential. He can play and compete with the best students.”

 

At the Kingsville competition, Aram captured two awards. Following his first round, he received the Isabel Scionti prize for the best single performance at the competition. By the time he finished the final two rounds of the three-round competition, he took first place overall in the solo senior division. Better yet, he took home a cash prize of $2,000 — great news for a college student living on his own.

 

Preparing for the competition became all-consuming, but Arakelyan had the support of his teacher and mentor Amano.

 

“Professor Amano talked with me about entering Kingsville, and we decided this would be a good competition for me,” he said.

 

Aram is Amano’s fifth student to win first place at the Kingsville competition. That’s an impressive track record for Amano and USU pianists.

 

“I find that Kingsville carefully selects judges who are politically impartial,” Amano said. “They aren’t impressed if the competitors are from Juilliard or Moscow.”

 

In the highly charged atmosphere of major competitions, this is often a concern when the students come from Logan, Utah, an area unknown to many.

 

Kingsville required a 20-minute program with a repertoire of choice by the contestant from contrasting musical periods. Aram performed music from the Classical period, Romantic period and a 20^th century work by a composer from his homeland. The selections were drawn from the nearly two hours of repertoire he had prepared for last summer’s Gina Bachauer Competition in Salt Lake City, a competition he entered this time in the senior division.

 

Aram said he likes to work with pieces “that you’ve been on the road with.” That is, pieces that have been used in competitions or performed multiple times in front of an audience.

 

“Once I was accepted in the Kingsville, I was practicing every single moment — not doing anything else,” he said. “That’s why I like to work on pieces I have experience with.”

 

“When students prepare for competitions, I always tell them the truth,” Amano said. “If they are playing on the level needed, I tell them so, and if they are not, they know that as well. At all stages of preparation, I will let them know exactly how they are doing.”

 

The work paid off for Aram, who most certainly achieved “the zone” in his winning performances.

 

“Aram is a great talent, but there are others in the department who are wonderful students,” Amano said. “They might not attain national recognition, but to help them grow as musicians and as young adults is the most rewarding aspect of my work at Utah State.”

 

Aram said he is at a crossroads. He’s close to graduating and will finish his undergraduate degree within the year. His experience at Utah State has been a good one, he said, and many on campus have had the opportunity to hear him perform. He plays at numerous campus events, both in the spotlight as a solo performer and providing background music for innumerable receptions. He’s even spent two summers as the accompanist at Bear Lake’s Pickleville Playhouse, a summer entertainment stop and the home to old-time melodramas and popular musicals.

 

“I want to build my career and to be able to do everything,” he said. “Musicians have to be able to play music, no matter what it is. That’s why I agreed to play with Pickleville. I love to play background music, recording and performing anything at all. I play and I’m at the piano constantly. I’m still learning.”

 

And when Aram is at home relaxing, what does he do? At the moment, he’s exploring jazz.