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In 1998 in the Armenian capital Yerevan, in the country of his ancestors, he invited eleven young, open-minded and enthusiastic musicians to join in a session for the first time. With these musicians – who played traditional folk instruments such as duduk, blul, zurna, kemanche and kanun, but also contemporary western instruments such as trombone, alto, tenor and soprano saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums, keyboards and piano – his “sound worlds” finally became audible in the form he had wanted for a long time and which fit his identity.

It is impossible to describe in just a few words Arto Tunçboyaciyan’s extraordinary life: his involvement as a composer and performer on several hundred recordings in Europe, America and Asia; almost 20 of his own albums for which he composed all the music, wrote all the lyrics, and which he performed himself and recorded with the support of musical companions such as his brother Onno, Ara Dinkijan, Joe Zawinul, Paul Winter or Serj Tankian; his work as a soloist, in a duet, or with his band formations Night Ark and today the ARMENIAN NAVY BAND. All this is authentic proof of his lifelong pursuit of his highest values: truth, love and respect.

Arto Tunçboyaciyan is considered by famous fellow musicians, without envy, to be one of the most accomplished musicians of our time. He is a remarkable composer whose compositions create fascinating sound landscapes. As an outstanding and highly-respected percussionist, he does not limit himself to the usual instruments. He sees his own body as an instrument, as he does everything which he can “play” in his own very personal way to give musical, artistic expression to his emotions and his soul. The poetic power of his song lyrics is expressed with a unique voice; he lets the fragile-melancholy moods of difficult human trials resound on the little lute bular which he developed himself; he drums exuberant joy on the hand-drums bakdav which he designed; mischievously innocent, he coaxes happiness out of a simple water bottle.

In his more than 500 complex compositions – from children’s songs to film music; from pop songs to jazz standards – there are always constants: his unbroken trust in nature and in the future, his knowledge about the infinity of the soul, and his belief in the power of love.