Artak Asatryan

A master duduk player and lecturer, Artak Asatryan has become a key figure in the development of the duduk and is currently focusing on ancient Armenian choral and chamber music.

Artak Asatryan is an award-winning Armenian musician and master duduk player, artistic director, university lecturer and baritone singer with 30 years of experience in playing and more than 20 years in teaching the duduk.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1985, Artak Asatryan has been playing duduk since the age of six. In 1993, at the age of nine, he started playing in the Folk Instruments Ensemble of the Armenian Children Philharmonic as the first duduk player and soloist. Since then, Artak has toured with various ensembles in many countries and received various awards for his exceptional performances.

Artak was the first to interpret Classical compositions from Beethoven to Mozart on the duduk as a solo instrument. His adaptations include works by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Vivaldi, Rachmaninov, Arno Babajanyan, Aram Khachatryan, Alexander Spendiaryan and Brahms. He has arranged more than 50 Komitas songs and more than 30 choral compositions for duduk players and duduk quartets.

His current work is focused on choir and chamber orchestra music. He is also working on his first book "Duduk Dances and 7 Songs" — a descriptive and analytical work to help advanced duduk players better understand the nuances of the instrument.