OUR CONDUCTORS

The Ensign Symphony & Chorus is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Kenneth Owen as the new Conductor and Artistic Director. Ken is the chair of the music, art and philosophy departments at Pierce College Puyallup and is on the Music Faculty. Ken directs the Concert Choir and Chamber Choir at Pierce College as well as a children's choir through the community education department. Ken also teaches music theory, music appreciation, and world music courses as well as piano and voice lessons. 

 

Ken received a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Utah, where he studied with Frank Wienstock and Dr. Barlow Bradford. Ken went on to study conducting with Dr. Ronald Staheli and to work with the renowned choirs at Brigham Young University. There he received the Master of Music degree in Choral conducting and also studied orchestral conducting. While at BYU Ken sang with the BYU Singers and sang on their best-selling album "Eric Whitacre, the complete a cappella works 1991-2001." At Arizona State University Ken received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and also studied orchestral conducting with Dr. Timothy Russell.

Please join us in welcoming Tigran Arakelyan who has joined as Conductor for the Ensign Symphony. Maestro Arakelyan has demonstrated an enduring passion for music with the many organizations he has touched. He was the founder of two orchestras, music competitions, and numerous scholarship/grant and funding initiatives. Tigran conducted regional premieres by renowned composers Paul Hindemith, Keith Jarrett, Jovino Santos Neto, and many others.

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In addition to earning his Doctor of Musical Arts at The University of Washington, Tigran is an executive director, radio host, podcaster and producer.