Симонян Ильда

Симонян Хильда

Simonian Ilda

biography

Born in Istanbul, Ilda Simonian Хильда Симонян discovered at an early age a passion for singing. Her personality manifests itself in her passionate interpretation of the melancholic Armenian songs. As a performer, she is a perfectionist, which underlines her professionalism. Her repertoire does not only include the great Armenian composers, but also Western classical music by Monteverdi, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovski, Fauré, and others.

Ilda is a singer with a message, who aims to acquaint her audience with a wide range of Armenian composers and folk songs, introducing them to the venerable liturgical tradition and the work of such composers as Sayat Nova, Komitas, Melikian, Merangulian, Ganachian, Hekimian, Balian, Ajemian, and Avedisian.

Ilda combines professionalism with a good measure of playfulness, authenticity, and sophistication, thus achieving a synthesis which never fails to captivate her audience. With her rich mezzo-soprano and intimate interpretations she has added depth and meaning to the ancient Armenian language and musical tradition. Education and Experience

At the tender age of six Ilda started her career in singing at weekly church services in Istanbul. At 14 she became the Sayat Nova Choir’s youngest member. Before long, she was regularly performing as a soloist in the choir, which concentrated on secular and liturgical Armenian vocal music.

While completing a university course in economics, Ilda continued her singing and joined several choirs. Following that, she was admitted to the National Music Academy of the Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, choosing opera as her main subject. During this period she also sang marriage services with the choir of the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul. At the same time she was a member of the Turkish Radio and Television Choir and the Ruhi Su Friendship Choir. In the Netherlands, Ilda performed as a guest singer with the traditional music ensemble of the Komitas Music Academy of Yerevan, directed by Ardzas Woskanian; the concert took place in the Meervaart cultural centre in Amsterdam.

In the same city, she also sang in the Polo de Haas series in the Beurs van Berlage and the Concertgebouw Kleine Zaal, accompanied by Polo de Haas on piano. She made several short appearances on Dutch radio and television with renderings of her Armenian repertoire. Towards the end of 1999 she presented a selection of Komitas’ songs in a concert organized by the Sayat Nova Choir in Istanbul in honour of Armenuhi Kevonian, entitled “Songs of Mush”. Ilda regularly sings in venues all over the Netherlands as a soloist accompanied on the piano, recently with Liesbeth Spits. She advises choirs who wish to include Armenian music in their repertoire and coaches them at their rehearsals. As a teacher she also organizes a variety of workshops with her students each year. http://www.simonian.nl/