GEORGE MGRDICHIAN & MENACHEM DWORMAN

George Mgrdichian was born in 1935 in Philadelphia, USA into an Armenian-American family. As a teenager he played the clarinet in an Armenian band that performed at weddings and dances, but when the oud player was drafted into military service, Mgrdichian was required to teach himself the oud to replace him. Mgrdichian's first solo oud recording was released in 1958, and this would be followed by appearances on dozens more albums, through which he played a major part in introducing the oud to American audiences. In the 1960s he moved to New York to further his studies of the clarinet at the Juilliard School, where he obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree. He also studied ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Over the years he collaborated with musicians from jazz, classical and traditional backgrounds, including Dave Brubeck, the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra. George Mgrdichian passed away read more...