Norayr Qartashyan

Norayr Kartashyan was born on 25 August 1967 in the village of Aygedzor into a traditional masons' family. From 1977 to 1982, Kartashyan attended a music school where he learned to play the clarinet. From 1982 to 1986, he attended a musical college specializing in duduk playing. From 1986 to 1988, Kartashyan served in the USSR Armed Forces. He also learned to play other Armenian folk instruments, particularly the blul (Armenian flute), focusing on forgotten or less common instruments. Kartashyan plays the blul, duduk, zurna, shvi, pku, and parkapzuk.

Kartashyan has collaborated and worked with several bands and artists, including Arto Tuncboyajiyan, Tigran Hamasyan, and the Katuner Band. As a member of the Armenian Navy Band, Kartashyan has participated in numerous festivals. Norayr Kartashyan has released three CDs: Melodies from Antiquity in 2005, Tsarastan in 2010, and Norayr Kartashyan & the VAN Project Live in Concert in 2012.

Kartashyan is the author of dozens of works. He has been teaching at various music schools since 1988, passing his knowledge on to the younger generation. In 2010, he established the VAN Project and in 2015, the Menua band. The VAN Project has performed in various regions of Western Armenia, collecting and performing Armenian music. Kartashyan has restored the Armenian bagpipe (parkapzuk), introducing it in the Menua band.

Norayr Kartashyan’s main mission is the restoration of Armenian music and the transmission of it to the younger generation.