Katya Janpoladyan, Cello Teacher:
Cellist Katya Janpoladyan is a performer whose talents and musical passion extend beyond the stage. Audiences throughout the world have enjoyed her numerous studio albums, countless national and international performances, and live radio appearances. Ms. Janpoladyan is equally driven as an entrepreneur and pedagogue, spearheading several successful chamber music programs and preparing award-winning cello students for their lives in music.
Ms. Janpoladyan is currently the founder, Executive Director, and cellist of Kassia Ensemble, a non-profit organization. Kassia Ensemble is a chamber music group comprised exclusively of women which promotes women’s contribution to classical music. Kassia Ensemble strives to highlight the richness of women’s roles in music by programming works by female composers performed by female musicians. They are based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and can often be heard broadcasting live on WQED, Pittsburgh’s classical music station. The talents and mission of the Kassia Ensemble have also been in demand in the recording studio. They are featured on the album, “Songs of Lake Volta” with composer and pianist Joseph Sheehan, who is an assistant professor at Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music. Additionally, the Kassia Ensemble is featured on the soon-to-be released album, “Rêverie” with renowned Trumpet player, Mary Bowden.
Music has played a pivotal role in shaping Ms. Janpoladyan’s life. She endeavours to share her love of music and its transformative reach with others. She teaches several award-winning cello students and has studios throughout the Pittsburgh area, including the Carnegie Mellon Preparatory Department. Ms. Janpoladyan has cultivated several concerto competition winners for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Philharmonic concerto competitions. A number of her students continued to study music in some of the most prestigious music schools in the world including Julliard School of Music, Rice University, Indiana University Bloomington, Northwestern University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Mellon University. Her teaching prowess has garnered international demand and she has taught masterclasses in the U.S., China, and Chile.
Ms. Janpoladyan has also created programs to serve aspiring musicians in the Pittsburgh area. She founded the PYCO Summer Chamber Music Seminar and has served as its Artistic Director since its inception. The Summer Chamber Music Seminar pairs small groups of students with prominent artists and instructors of national and international renown. Through the tutelage of the acclaimed faculty, students learn how to mold their individual abilities beyond a formulaic curriculum. They also gain insight and experience into the practical aspects of the international musical landscape including entrepreneurship, programming, performing and networking.
An active performer, Ms. Janpoladyan is a former member of the award-winning SHELL Piano Trio of Armenia and a former member of the Baur String Quartet. In 2001, while she was a member of SHELL, the quartet won the 2001 Pierre Lantier International Chamber Music Competition in Paris, France. Ms. Janpoladyan has collaborated with artists such as Cyrus Forough, James Dunham, Yehuda Hanani, Ross Harbaugh, Awadagin Pratt, Piotr Milewsky and the Montclair Quartet. She has been featured as a soloist performing with the Yerevan Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata San Marco (NY), and the Mary Miller Dance Company. As a member of the Freya String Quartet, she has been a featured performer with the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, was a cellist in residence with the Charlotte New Music Festival.
Born and raised in Armenia, Ms. Janpolayan began playing cello at the age of 11. She recalls hearing a student perform the Haydn Cello Concerto, and that was the moment she realized she was destined to become a cellist. Her dedication to the cello paved the way for her studies at the Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia. Here, Ms. Janpoladyan studied with renowned soloists, Medea Abramian and Zareh Sargissyan. Following her studies in Armenia, she was accepted into the performance program at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of celebrated cello soloist, Yehuda Hanani. At the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory, Ms Janpoladyan earned a Master of Music in Cello Performance and will earn a Doctorate in Musical Arts upon the completion of her dissertation.
Ms. Janpoladyan is currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her daughter, Maria, who loves ballet and is currently studying piano.