Petros Karapetyan
Instrument: Violin
Studies:
Eastman School of Music
Biography:
Coming from a musical family, Petros began his musical studies at the age of six
at the specialized music school P.I. Tchaikovsky in Yerevan, Armenia. When he was
twelve, his family moved to Mexico where he continued his studies under the direction
of his mother and Professor Gohar Zakaryan. After a few years of study in the
Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Petros moves to Rochester NY to continue
his studies at the Eastman School of Music. In spring of 2017, Petros graduated from
the Eastman School with a Performance Certificate, as well as from The University of
Rochester with a Bachelor of Arts in Business.
During his stay in Mexico, Petros was concertmaster of several youth orchestras
in both local and national level including the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of
Mexico and the National ‘Esperanza Azteca’. He then went on to stay in close contact
with the ‘Esperanza Azteca’ foundation, coaching and teaching many young students
from different backgrounds. While being a full time student both at the Autonomous
University of Aguascalientes School of Music and the Panamerican University School
of Business and International Relations, Petros was also performing with the
Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra. Some guest performances include the Zacatecas
Philharmonic and the Sinaloa Symphony. Petros was invited to be part of the renowned
Mexico based ‘Jose White’ String quartet for a series of concerts. These included
performances at some of the most prestigious concert venues in Mexico such as the
Fernando Calderon Hall in Zacatecas and the Conservatorio De Las Rosas in Morelia.
The ‘Jose White’ String Quartet also took part of a series of educational concerts in
rural areas in Mexico where Petros took an important part for outreach and education
for young people.
In his four years at the Eastman School of Music, he consistently acted as a
rotating concertmaster for the Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman School Symphony and
The Eastman Opera Orchestras. Along with his orchestral studies, Petros has also been
part of the Intensive and Honors chamber music programs at the Eastman School as
well as appearing on Dean’s List in several occasions.
Petros has participated in masterclasses and collaborated with Peter Oundjian,
Donald Weilerstein, Joseph Silverstein, Rainer Kuchl, The Juilliard Quartet, The Dover
Quartet, The Ying Quartet, Escher String Quartet, Muir String Quartet, Jerusalem String
Quartet, Penderecki String Quartet. Petros has attended to summer festivals such as The
Colorado College Summer Music Festival in 2014, The Tanglewood Music Center in
2015, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan in 2016 and 2017, and the Avaloch Summer
Music Institute for advanced chamber music groups in summer of 2018.
Since 2016, Petros has been part of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra,
acting as a substitute violinist. In December of the same year, he was awarded the
tenure B contract position but had to decline it in order to continue with his career in
Houston, Texas, where he is on the substitute list for the Houston Symphony. Petros is
currently pursuing his Masters of Music in Violin Performance at the Rice University
Shepherd School of Music in Professor Kathleen Winkler’s studio as a second year
masters student. He is fluent in Armenian, Spanish, Russian and English
