Rita Kassabian is an 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....

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 born in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

.

She had a passion for the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 since an early age: from 1996 till 1997, she follows regularly the advices of Walid Akl who encourages her to excel in music. She studies, in parallel in the piano, harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

 and analysis

Musical analysis

Musical analysis is the attempt to answer the question how does this music work?. The method employed to answer this question, and indeed exactly what is meant by the question, differs from analyst to analyst, and according to the purpose of the analysis. According to Ian Bent , analysis is "an...

 then is admitted at Schola Cantorum de Paris (France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) in the composition / orchestration

Orchestration

Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...

 class of Patrice Sciortino, in September 2001.

Member of the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique

Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique

Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers and music publishers.-History:...

, she is also the chairwoman of the associations ARKOncerts and A.R.K., the purpose of this last being to encourage cultural exchanges between young talent.

Awards

• Second prize in orchestration with honour in 2004, Paris
• first prize in orchestration with honour in 2005, Paris
• prize of composition in chamber music with honour in 2005, Paris
• prize of composition in solo instrument with honour in 2006, Paris
• first prize in composition in chamber music, solo instrument, chorus and symphonic music in 2007, Paris

Compositions

• April 2005 – Impromptu for 2 flutes, cello, 4 timpanies and 1 harp (composition prize 2005)
• December 2005 – Divertimento for tenor solo saxophone, edited by L'Harmattan editions - Paris
  Paris
  Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
  
   (composition prize 2006)
• January 2006 – Waltz for flute and strings
• January 2006 – Evasions for solo contrabassa
• May 2007 – Trio for flute, tenor saxophone and cello.
• October 2008 – Suite for strings (Madeleine
  Madeleine
  The madeleine or petite madeleine is a traditional small cake from Commercy and Liverdun, two communes of the Lorraine region in northeastern France....
  
   church Paris)
• October 2008 – Concerto for flute, string orchestra, french horn, harp, timpanies and percussions (Madeleine church Paris)
• March 2009 – Fantasia for flute ensemble (Saint Germain des Prés Auditorium, Paris)
• December 2009 – Concerto for tenor saxophone, oboe, strings and percussions (Paris)
• May 2010 – Concerto for tenor saxophone, saxophones band and percussions (new version of the concerto created on december 2009; Paris)

External links

• http://www.ritakassabian.net
• http://www.myspace.com/ritakassabian
• http://www.tfront.com/2009_Music_Catalog.pdf
• http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/Discographies/womencompscore/womscojk.html