Violinist Melisa Gohar Atoyan was born in Argentina to Armenian parents. She is the first violinist and a founding member of the Arya String Quartet, most recently featured in 2019 at the Pleasantville Chamber Music Society. She has performed as a soloist with the Adelphi Symphony Orchestra, with which she served as co-concertmaster. With immense opera experience, she has served as concertmaster and in the first violin sections of the Utopia Opera, New Opera, Regina Opera, and New Rochelle Opera companies. Additionally, she appeared in America’s Got Talent in 2014, playing in the string section for Emily West’s performance at Radio City Music Hall. Melisa has also appeared in notable venues such as Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center’s Midsummernight’s Swing, Teatro Coliseo…among others.

 

Besides being classically trained, Ms. Atoyan also performs tango music and has worked with grandiose tango musicians such as Grammy Nominee: Emilio Solla, Pedro Giraudo, JP Jofre, Hector Del Curto…Melisa has also worked with Polly Ferman and GlamourTango, “Tango Untangled” (Teatro Circulo) and has served as violin solo for Astoria Tango Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Binelli.

 

At the age of 8, Ms. Atoyan was awarded 1st prize-Junior Division in the Fundación Banco Mayo Competition (Argentina). After receiving the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Performing Arts Fellowship in 2009, she was accepted into “La Scuola di Musica di Fiesole” (Italy) International Competition Training Course the following year, studying with renowned pedagogue, Pavel Vernikov. Under the tutelage of Valery Oistrakh at the Brussels Royal Conservatory, she received her B.M. in Violin Performance.

 

As a dedicated teacher, Ms. Atoyan has served on the violin faculty at the Brooklyn Music House, Herald Music School, Music Box School, Vienna Music, PS 11 (Brooklyn) and currently teaches violin at Bergen Academy of Music and Art as well as leading the intermediate orchestra and teaching group violin classes at UCMP.