Vahram Sargsyan

Vahram Sargsyan (Sarkissian) is an Armenian-Canadian composer, conductor, and experimental vocalist based in Montreal. His work ranges from the influence of Armenian medieval sacred music to contemporary instrumental writing and extended vocal techniques, often exploring the voice at the boundaries of conventional singing. Sargsyan’s music has been performed internationally across Europe, North America, and Asia.

As an experimental vocalist, Sargsyan has developed a distinctive practice encompassing overtone singing, multiphonics, extreme registers, whistling, and other unconventional modes of vocal production. He was a founding member of Phth, a Montreal-based experimental vocal ensemble devoted to new repertoire, improvisation, and multidisciplinary performance.

His arrangement of the Armenian sacred chant Great Mystery was published by Oxford University Press in World Carols for Choirs and recorded by the BBC Singers. His instrumental work Hunting the Hunter was premiered under his baton at Carnegie Hall in 2012, while  Joyful Light for women’s choir has received more than one hundred performances internationally. His Quiet Songs was awarded the 2023 Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music by the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2024 he received the Prix du CALQ – Artiste de l’année à Laval.

Sargsyan is also active internationally as a lecturer and workshop leader, particularly in the fields of extended vocal techniques and gesture-led collective music-making. His workshops and presentations have been featured at the World Symposium on Choral Music (2017, 2026), PODIUM Choral Conference & Festival, Europa Cantat, ACDA conferences, among others.

Sargsyan studied composition and choral conducting at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and composition at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. He is a member of the Composers’ Union of Armenia and the Canadian League of Composers, and an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre.