Miqayel Voskanyan

Armenian tar player, composer, and vocalist Miqayel Voskanyan repositions ancestral sounds in contemporary contexts. Rooted in ritual traditions and modes, he explores how inherited musical languages can speak meaningfully to the present, going beyond folklore or nostalgia to position the tar less as a historical instrument, more as a current sonic voice. His compositions often emerge from improvisation, drawing on jazz, progressive global music, and experimental forms, to create music with a fluidity shaped by both place and movement.

Having founded Miqayel Voskanyan & Friends (aka MVF Band) in 2011 Voskanyan has performed in more than 30 countries worldwide, and has worked with artists including Lenny White, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Tigran Hamasyan, Jamie Haddad, Marcus Printup, and Mike Block. In parallel he has composed extensively for film, with recent works including 250 km, a short film reflecting on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and Amerikatsi, a feature film centered on the story of an Armenian Genocide survivor, shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

He is joined by master-percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger, fresh from recent concerts with Abel Selaocoe; US-based pianist Vardan Ovsepian, and bassist Jasper Hoiby, founder of Phronesis and 3Elements.