Michelle Ekizian (born November 21, 1956) is an American composer of Armenian heritage.

Life

Michelle Ekizian was born in Bronxville, New York. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a master's degree from Columbia University, having studied with Chou Wen-chung, Mario Davidovsky, Nicolas Flagello and Vladimir Ussachevsky. Her music has been performed internationally.^[1][2]

Honors and awards

• American Prix de Rome from the American Academy in Rome, 1988
• Commerce Bank International Composition Award, 1987
• Indiana State University/Louisville Orchestra New Music Competition Prize, 1990
• Aram Khachaturian Award
• ACA Recording Award
• John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship
• National Endowment for the Arts fellowship

Works

Selected works include:

• Octoéchos for Double String Quartet and Soprano
• The Exiled Heart orchestral cycle, including The Exiled Heart (1986), Morning of Light (1988), and Beyond the Reach of Wind and Fire (1989)
• Symphony #1: When Light Divided
• Slow Apocolypse: Fanfare for Orchestra Manque, 1995
• A Saint Gregory Moment
• David of Sassoun, 1992
• Sabre Dances for orchestra, 1991
• Red Harvest: Concerto for violin and orchestra^[3]

Her music has been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Works by Michelle Ekizian and Louis Karchin, New World Records
• American Academy in Rome spring concert, 1989 June 5