Biographical Note
Julian Miran (born Mihran Essegulian in Larnaca, Cyprus, 1952) has had his compositions performed in Canada, the United States and Europe by such ensembles as the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal, The Prism Orchestra, The Canadian Chamber Ensemble, the Radio-Canada Chamber Players, and the Gargatch Choir. His pieces have been broadcast on radio in Boston, Detroit, San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, Stockholm, Lyon, Yerevan, and Nicosia. His preferred format is the symphony orchestra, with or without the addition of electronic sounds. He has won prizes for his compositions Simantra, Narek and In Nomine, while Haïrenne, Hommage à Komitas, Allô! C’est moi. Ça va?, Hétéromodes, … et cantus sacri are among his other compositions. He has orchestrated Armen Tigranian’s opera Anoush, commissioned by the Michigan Opera Theatre, as well as Father Komitas’ Eight Dances, originally written for piano.
In 1998 Julian Miran earned his Doctorate in Music (Composition) at Université de Montréal with Michel Longtin (instrumental) and Jean Piché (electroacoustic) as advisers. His dissertation includes the pieces Hétéromodes and In Nomine, while the theoretical background is explained in the text called Heterophony and Electroacoustic Music: a Synthesis. He holds a Master of Arts in Theory and Composition from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, where he studied composition with Edward Mirzoyan and orchestration with Avet Terterian. His Master’s thesis, the oratorio Narek, was set to texts from The Book of Lamentations by the tenth century mystic poet Grigor Narekatsi. He also studied electronic studio techniques with Bengt Hambraeus at McGill University, and computer music composition with Barry Vercoe at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a 5-month stay at the Institute for Electroacoustic Music in Sweden for research and projects headed by Lars-Gunnar Bodin and Hans Lunell. His orchestral conducting teachers were Raffi Armenian and Agnes Grossmann at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, and Nurhan Arman at the Conducting Institute of Canadore College in North Bay.
Some important premières of his pieces include: Narek, at the consecration of Notre-Dame de Nareg Church (1983), St-Laurent, Québec, later played at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York; Allô! C’est moi. Ça va?, at the 9th Festival of Electroacoustic Music in Skinnskatteberg, Sweden (1990), subsequently broadcast many times in Canada; Hommage à Komitas, with Jean-François Rivest conducting the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal (1996). In 2002 … et cantus sacri was selected by the Canadian jury for the ISCM World Music Days in Slovenia, its première having taken place a year earlier, with Jean-François Rivest conducting the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval.
Julian Miran has been composer-in-residence at the Swedish national EMS Studios and with the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, in 1989-1990 and 2001 respectively. He is an active member of SOCAN, ORMTA, the Canadian League of Composers, an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, and the recipient of numerous grants and scholarships from the Canada Council for the Arts; the SOCAN Foundation; the Research Fund of the Government of Québec; the Swedish Institute; the Alex and Marie Manoogian Cultural Fund; the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Armenia; the Ontario Arts Council; and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
He has been active as a theoretician, doing research and giving lectures, notably at the Conservatorio di Musica “S. Giacomantonio” in Cosenza, Italy (2010), Université de Montréal, the Gothenburg Conservatory, the Swedish Folk Music Archives, the Museum of Literature and Fine Arts in Yerevan, and the World Music Research Lab of Université de Montréal. His video documentaries on the folk music instruments of the Caucasus, as well as on ancient Armenian string instruments were shown on CF Cable TV Horizon and Télé-Québec. Besides organology, his research interests comprise modes, micro-intervals, heterophony and software improvisation. He also prepared, in collaboration with H. Injejikian, two disks of children’s songs for educational purposes, funded by Multiculturalism Canada.
Dr. Miran is an experienced adjudicator, having served on performance- or composition-oriented juries at Université de Montréal, European University Cyprus and The Canada Council for the Arts. He has taught a variety of subjects including piano, theory, ear-training, music history, conducting, harmony, counterpoint, analysis, orchestration, composition and music software at Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, Université de Montréal, Ganatchian College of the Komitas State Conservatory, The Royal Conservatory of Music, and European University Cyprus. He presently teaches piano, theory, ear-training and harmony at the Ottawa School of Music.
Over the years, his students have gone on to pursue successful careers in music, while a host of promising young students are still in their studies. The candidates he prepares for RCM examinations consistently obtain excellent marks in piano, theory, harmony, counterpoint, analysis and history. This is due to his flexibility in adapting his teaching methods to circumstances that are at once interesting and challenging, in a way that enhances each student’s learning abilities. Dr. Miran’s excellent command of Canada’s two official languages, coupled with his valuable expertise in orchestration, composition and desktop music publishing make him a much sought-after professional.
In 1998 Julian Miran earned his Doctorate in Music (Composition) at Université de Montréal with Michel Longtin (instrumental) and Jean Piché (electroacoustic) as advisers. His dissertation includes the pieces Hétéromodes and In Nomine, while the theoretical background is explained in the text called Heterophony and Electroacoustic Music: a Synthesis. He holds a Master of Arts in Theory and Composition from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, where he studied composition with Edward Mirzoyan and orchestration with Avet Terterian. His Master’s thesis, the oratorio Narek, was set to texts from The Book of Lamentations by the tenth century mystic poet Grigor Narekatsi. He also studied electronic studio techniques with Bengt Hambraeus at McGill University, and computer music composition with Barry Vercoe at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a 5-month stay at the Institute for Electroacoustic Music in Sweden for research and projects headed by Lars-Gunnar Bodin and Hans Lunell. His orchestral conducting teachers were Raffi Armenian and Agnes Grossmann at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, and Nurhan Arman at the Conducting Institute of Canadore College in North Bay.
Some important premières of his pieces include: Narek, at the consecration of Notre-Dame de Nareg Church (1983), St-Laurent, Québec, later played at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York; Allô! C’est moi. Ça va?, at the 9th Festival of Electroacoustic Music in Skinnskatteberg, Sweden (1990), subsequently broadcast many times in Canada; Hommage à Komitas, with Jean-François Rivest conducting the Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal (1996). In 2002 … et cantus sacri was selected by the Canadian jury for the ISCM World Music Days in Slovenia, its première having taken place a year earlier, with Jean-François Rivest conducting the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval.
Julian Miran has been composer-in-residence at the Swedish national EMS Studios and with the Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, in 1989-1990 and 2001 respectively. He is an active member of SOCAN, ORMTA, the Canadian League of Composers, an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, and the recipient of numerous grants and scholarships from the Canada Council for the Arts; the SOCAN Foundation; the Research Fund of the Government of Québec; the Swedish Institute; the Alex and Marie Manoogian Cultural Fund; the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Armenia; the Ontario Arts Council; and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
He has been active as a theoretician, doing research and giving lectures, notably at the Conservatorio di Musica “S. Giacomantonio” in Cosenza, Italy (2010), Université de Montréal, the Gothenburg Conservatory, the Swedish Folk Music Archives, the Museum of Literature and Fine Arts in Yerevan, and the World Music Research Lab of Université de Montréal. His video documentaries on the folk music instruments of the Caucasus, as well as on ancient Armenian string instruments were shown on CF Cable TV Horizon and Télé-Québec. Besides organology, his research interests comprise modes, micro-intervals, heterophony and software improvisation. He also prepared, in collaboration with H. Injejikian, two disks of children’s songs for educational purposes, funded by Multiculturalism Canada.
Dr. Miran is an experienced adjudicator, having served on performance- or composition-oriented juries at Université de Montréal, European University Cyprus and The Canada Council for the Arts. He has taught a variety of subjects including piano, theory, ear-training, music history, conducting, harmony, counterpoint, analysis, orchestration, composition and music software at Conservatoire de Musique du Québec, Université de Montréal, Ganatchian College of the Komitas State Conservatory, The Royal Conservatory of Music, and European University Cyprus. He presently teaches piano, theory, ear-training and harmony at the Ottawa School of Music.
Over the years, his students have gone on to pursue successful careers in music, while a host of promising young students are still in their studies. The candidates he prepares for RCM examinations consistently obtain excellent marks in piano, theory, harmony, counterpoint, analysis and history. This is due to his flexibility in adapting his teaching methods to circumstances that are at once interesting and challenging, in a way that enhances each student’s learning abilities. Dr. Miran’s excellent command of Canada’s two official languages, coupled with his valuable expertise in orchestration, composition and desktop music publishing make him a much sought-after professional.