Miqayel Voskanyan Quartet

Armenian tar player, composer, and vocalist Miqayel Voskanyan repositions ancestral sounds in contemporary contexts. Rooted in ritual traditions and modes, he explores how inherited musical languages can speak meaningfully to the present, beyond folklore or nostalgia, positioning the tar less as a historical instrument, more as a current sonic voice. His compositions often emerge from improvisation, drawing on jazz, progressive global music, and experimental forms, to create music with a fluidity shaped by both place and movement.

In this concert centred on the tar – a traditional plucked lute – Voskanyan explores Armenian modes in contemporary compositions and improvisations, shaped by jazz sensibilities and grooves, unusual meters, and detailed rhythmic interaction between four masters of their instruments.

Voskanyan is the recipient of the “Super Tar” Special Award from the Van Music Awards, while MVF Band has been named “Best Band of the Year” and “Best Jazz Band of the Year” by Armenia’s Van Music Awards and Tsitsernak National Music Awards. 

He is joined by master-percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger, fresh from recent concerts with Abel Selaocoe; US-based pianist Vardan Ovsepian, and bassist Jasper Høiby, founder of Phronesis and 3Elements.

Image: Vartan Kelechian