Aram Bajakian

The music of guitarist and composer Aram Bajakian music has been called “a masterpiece” (fRoots), “shape-shifting” (FreeJazzCollective), and “sometimes delicate, sometimes punishing” (Chicago Reader). As a guitarist, “the virtuosic jack of all trades” (Village Voice) has toured extensively with Lou Reed, Madeleine Peyroux, Frank London, John Zorn and Diana Krall. From 2018-2021, Bajakian served as the New Music Curator at Western Front in Vancouver, one of Canada’s leading artist-run centers for contemporary art and new music. During his tenure as curator, he was involved in commissioning works such as Darius Jones’ piece fLuXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred), Ian William Craig’s Twenty-One Blank Words, and Tiffany Ayalik’s Itqaqhaijuq/Tries to Remember. Bajakian received his Bachelor of Music degree (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he studied extensively with Dr. Yusef Lateef. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and Master of Music degree in Music Composition from the University of British Columbia. He is currently a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of British Columbia, where his advisor is Dr. Nathan Hesselink. His research focuses on the role of music in historic and contemporary Armenian communities. Bajakian teaches in the Music & Sound program at the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.