| Sarkis Baltaian has gained an international reputation as a concert pianist, chamber musician, and recording artist. Praised by critics for his "beautiful tone and ability to project even the most delicate pianissimos", Mr. Baltaian made his Carnegie Hall Debut in 1999 and has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras including USC Thornton Symphony, Pasadena Pops Orchestra, Nimbus Ensemble, Beverly Hills Symphony, Plovdiv, Pleven Philharmonics, to name a few. With his sister violinist Aroussiak Baltaian, he has been featured at the 1999 Los Angeles Philharmonic International Gala and also appeared at the 2000 World Piano Pedagogy Convention in Las Vegas. He is also a Grand prize winner of the Armenian Allied Arts Association Competition, the "Young Piano Virtuosi" International Competition, and the "Svetoslav Obretenov" National Competition in Bulgaria. He has been featured in radio broadcasts on KUSC "Sundays at Four", WMFT's "Dame Myra Hess" series in Chicago, and KNPR Classical series, Las Vegas. Sarkis Baltaian, of Armenian descent, was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and began to study piano at the age of four with Rositza Ivancheva at the "Dobrin Petkov" Music School. Awarded a scholarship from the USC and grants from AGBU-New York and USC Friends of Armenian Music, he continued his education at USC where he received the BM and MM Degrees, and became the Outstanding Graduate of the Keyboard Department. His principal teacher has been John Perry and he has also worked with Gyorgy Sandor, Menahem Pressler, and Dmitri Bashkirov. Mr. Baltaian is serving as the Teaching Assistant to Professor John Perry at the University of Southern California, and is also a member of the piano faculty of the California State University, Los Angeles.
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