Lena Chamamyan
Encyclopedia
Lena Chamamyan is a Syria
n singer of Armenian
descent. Born in Damascus
, she started singing at an early age giving her first concert when she was five years old.
Through her elementary and secondary education she held many school concerts. She started studying music at the age of nine in Damascus
.
After graduating from the Faculty of Business in 2002, she studied classical singing at the Damascus Conservatory, but also ventured into jazz and traditional Armenian music
. On her first album Hal Asmar Ellon
(2006), which reflects her style of oriental music mixed with elements of jazz, Chamamyan collaborated with the Aleppo
-born instrumentalist and trumpet player Basel Rajoub
.
The idea of the project was born before Lena started studying music academically. Classic was mixed with jazz and Oriental music to reflect the unique essence of Lena's style as a vocalist. She was charmed from the very beginning by the idea of mixing simple oriental tunes with cords. Many friend from the high institution of music helped Lena understand and conceptualize the project the first of whom was Basel Rajoub who arranged the music and managed the project.
They together won the first middle east Moyen-Orient Music Award presented by Radio Monte Carlo
in 2006 for the album Hal Asmarellon that was produced by the means of the grant given from Amawred Althakafi Institution (Egypt). This helped to enrich the artistic abilities reflected on their second step of the project (the album Shamat).
Throughout her university education, she joined many workshops in the field of classic music with Gloria Skalki (Italy), Carmen Villata (Italy), Mia bits (Netherlands).
She also joined Jazz workshops, most importantly, with the German Accordionist ( Manfred Leuschter ). This resulted in Lena and Manfred featured on each other’s albums and many concerts in Syria and Germany . She also worked with many vocalists and musicians of different nationalities in many jazz festivals in Syria.
While Lena was studying at the higher institution of music in Damascus, she graduated as a classical vocalist in 2007.
In May 2007, Chamamyan launched her second album, entitled Shamat at Al Hamra Theater in Damascus.
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n singer of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
descent. Born in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, she started singing at an early age giving her first concert when she was five years old.
Through her elementary and secondary education she held many school concerts. She started studying music at the age of nine in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
.
After graduating from the Faculty of Business in 2002, she studied classical singing at the Damascus Conservatory, but also ventured into jazz and traditional Armenian music
Music of Armenia
Armenia is situated close to the Caucasus Mountains, and its music is a mix of indigenous folk music, perhaps best-represented by Djivan Gasparyan's well-known duduk music, as well as light pop, and extensive Christian music, due to Armenia's status as the oldest Christian nation in the...
. On her first album Hal Asmar Ellon
Hal Asmar Ellon
Hal Asmar Ellon is the debut album by the Syrian vocalist Lena Chamamyan and composer Basel Rajoub released in 2006.-Track listing:#Ala Mowj ElBahr#Lama Bada Yatathana#AlRouzana#Hal Asmar Ellon#Bali Ma`ak#Ala Mowj ElBahr #Ya Mayla AlGhusson...
(2006), which reflects her style of oriental music mixed with elements of jazz, Chamamyan collaborated with the Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
-born instrumentalist and trumpet player Basel Rajoub
Basel Rajoub
Born in Aleppo - Syria in 1981, Basel Rajoub started his musical career performing on trumpet before joining Aleppo's conservatory where hestudied eastern and European classical music as well as jazz...
.
The idea of the project was born before Lena started studying music academically. Classic was mixed with jazz and Oriental music to reflect the unique essence of Lena's style as a vocalist. She was charmed from the very beginning by the idea of mixing simple oriental tunes with cords. Many friend from the high institution of music helped Lena understand and conceptualize the project the first of whom was Basel Rajoub who arranged the music and managed the project.
They together won the first middle east Moyen-Orient Music Award presented by Radio Monte Carlo
Radio Monte Carlo
Radio Monte Carlo is the name of six radio stations owned and managed by three different entities:*RMC Info is a French-speaking station, broadcasting in France and Monaco from Paris with some contributions from Monaco. Radio Monte-Carlo was one of 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the...
in 2006 for the album Hal Asmarellon that was produced by the means of the grant given from Amawred Althakafi Institution (Egypt). This helped to enrich the artistic abilities reflected on their second step of the project (the album Shamat).
Throughout her university education, she joined many workshops in the field of classic music with Gloria Skalki (Italy), Carmen Villata (Italy), Mia bits (Netherlands).
She also joined Jazz workshops, most importantly, with the German Accordionist ( Manfred Leuschter ). This resulted in Lena and Manfred featured on each other’s albums and many concerts in Syria and Germany . She also worked with many vocalists and musicians of different nationalities in many jazz festivals in Syria.
While Lena was studying at the higher institution of music in Damascus, she graduated as a classical vocalist in 2007.
In May 2007, Chamamyan launched her second album, entitled Shamat at Al Hamra Theater in Damascus.