Today we’d like to introduce you to Gohar Vardanyan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Gohar. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a classical guitarist originally from Armenia living in New York City. My father started teaching me to play the guitar when I was about five years old. It wasn’t really my choice to pick up the instrument but being surrounded by music, my father and his guitarist friends, it quickly became a part of who I am. I wasn’t really the type of child who would practice on her own.
In fact, I just wanted to play with my friends outside which I did… a lot… I was often bribed with ice cream and toys to come home and play the guitar for a few minutes. I never practiced on my own. My dad was always present during our “practice” sessions, which were more like lessons. Looking back, it was the best thing. I was able to progress so much faster even on those 15-30 mins a day because I had daily guidance from a professional. At the time, Armenia was going through a lot of struggle, it was right after the Soviet Union collapsed and life in Armenia was difficult. Chances for a future career in music for me were looking pretty bleak. The only way my parents saw for me to succeed in guitar or really in anything was to leave Armenia. They thought of sending me to a few countries in Europe but ultimately chose the United States.
We sent an audition tape to the Juilliard School. The audition tape had a compilation of videos of my guitar playing at various ages from about seven years old to probably 10 or 11. I was invited to audition in person and after being accepted moved to New York to continue my studies and attend the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. I continued my studies at Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan (performing arts boarding high school) at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (Bachelor of Music) and finally came full circle back to Juilliard for my Master’s in Music. The performance career didn’t really begin until I was done with all the schooling. I did my first US concert tour in 2010 and the first time I played for the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition (formerly knows as Classical Minds) was in 2013. The second time was in 2015 and I’m so excited to return to Houston for the 3rd time this summer.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has most definitely not been a smooth road. It’s always so easy to look at someone’s biography or accomplishments and assume that things came easy. I would say the earliest and biggest struggle was just moving to a new country. Many sacrifices had to be made on both my parents’ and my part to move from one country to another. Especially when the country you come from is so financially out of balance with the one you’re moving to. I was lucky enough to have had the right training and worked hard enough to be able to have full or almost full scholarships to the schools that I attended. I also had a sponsor, an incredibly generous person who helped with what the scholarships wouldn’t cover like housing and textbooks among other things.
Then there was the issue of immigration. As a student, I was here on an International Student visa but eventually I had to change my status if I wanted to stay in this country. After graduating, I had one year of Optional Practical Training, which is basically an employment authorization for International students to work in their field to gain experience. A career in music is difficult enough when you can do odd jobs to get by but as a foreigner, your only choice is to work in your field, in my case in music. Looking back it was a good thing because it forced me to do everything I can in classical guitar – to write that extra email to a concert presenter, make that extra recording… I played as many concerts as I could even if they didn’t pay enough to break even after travel. I taught, I wrote articles and books, made instructional videos.
I was able to build a strong enough portfolio to apply for the Artist Visa (a work visa for artists) and eventually to become a permanent resident based again on my artistic abilities. Perhaps if I had the choice to work part-time in retail or elsewhere after graduating, I wouldn’t work as hard to make a career in classical music a reality. I would limit myself in what I could do and be too picky and perhaps not accomplish as much. When that’s your only choice, you get creative, become more patient and eventually things turn around. It took about 5 or 6 years to get to a point where I don’t feel like I’m struggling to make ends meet all the time. Though a career in music, especially in classical music is always a struggle, it is one worth fighting for.
Tell us about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
I’m a classical guitarist. I perform concerts around the United States and Internationally. I teach private guitar lessons in New York City but also via Skype or Facetime to students around the world. I also make instructional and performance videos for YouTube and have written four instructional books for Mel Bay Publications.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t think I would do anything differently because everything that I’ve done has brought me to where I am today and I’m pretty happy with that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goharvardanyan.com/
- Email: gohar@goharvardanyan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goharguitar/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoharGuitar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoharGuitar
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/goharvardanyan
Image Credit:
Purple dress – Simon Powis
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
