|
Born in Athens, Greece, to Armenian parents, Athina Ani Babayan, has always had music as a big part of her life ever since she was young. The current York University, Faculty of Fine Arts student, fluent in Armenian, English, and French, initially started by singing in her elementary school choir at the age of eight.
Joining the junior and then the senior choirs of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church as a choir member and soloist, as well as singing at various community events and cooperating with Komitas Musical Association as a soloist, were the next steps she later took. Athina graduated from Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts Secondary School with Honors where she performed leading roles in various musicals, participating in choral competitions as well as numerous music festivals. |
|
She completed both Grade Ten level in voice and the Grade Eight level in piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music with First Class Honors.
She was then admitted into the York University Faculty of Fine Arts to complete her BFA Specialized Honors Degree, receiving the Entrance Scholarship as well as The York University Talent Award. She is currently in her fourth year at York University , studying voice with Stephanie Bogle. At her university, she has sung works such as Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Porpora’s Magnificat, as well as Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Coronation Anthems. Also, in concerts with Opera Bel Canto of South Simcoe, she has sung roles including Violetta from Verdi’s La Traviata, Lakme from Delibes’ Lakme, The Queen of the Night from Mozart’s Die Zuberflotte, and Vilia from Lehar’s The Merry Widow. For the past year Athina has been invited to sing with the internationally acclaimed Ottawa Bach Choir, as a chorister and soloist. The Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality and excellence, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach's choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. Through a combination of both a scholarly and emotional approach to choral music, the choir expands all aspects of the artistic spectrum.
Athina has been traveling to Ottawa to perform quite a few concerts as well as taking trips around the world. In December 2008, she went to Mexico City and in June 2009, she had the chance to go on a European tour with the group.
The Ottawa Bach Choir undertook a tour of Europe that included three concerts in Paris, three in London and three in Leipzig. These European destinations included the most notable Notre Dame in Paris, France, Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, and J.S. Bach’s own Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, the church where J.S. Bach spent the last 30 years of his career.
Notre Dame is one of the most stunning gothic cathedrals in the world, and has served as the center of music making in Paris for centuries, with such musicians as Léonin and Pérotin, Louis Vierne, Marcel Dupré and now, Olivier Latry. Its dramatic towers, spire, stained glass, statuary and magnificent organ are guaranteed to take your breath away. On the other hand, Saint Paul’s Cathedral has been home to many famous musicians, including John Blow, Jeremiah Clarke and John Stainer, and has been the place of numerous royal and state ceremonies.
More than any other church in Germany, St. Thomas’s is all about Johann Sebastian Bach, where he composed and directed music for 23 years. Classical music lovers, musicians and Bach fans from all over the world make pilgrimages to this famous location. Athina also performed with the Ottawa Bach Choir at l’Église de la Madeleine (home of Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns) and the American Church in Paris, as other distinguished venues to mention in this tour.
Consisting of some of the top choristers from the National Capital Region and beyond, the choir has achieved national as well as international acclaim. Athina Ani Babayan, is most definitely on the path to a most promising singing career. Congratulating her for her recent successes, we wish her the very best in her chosen, most challenging, life-long pathway, that is music.
By:R. Sarkissian