But as far as he is concerned bronzed sportsman's look aside it has always been music that has motivated him. I can't remember as far back as when I started, but we have a photo of me standing in front of the piano at the age of two, trying to reach the keys. His lanky frame readily gives the impression of the professional athlete rather than the musician when he is not composing he is shooting hoops for Homenetmen. The hands could go either way long fingers toy with his coffee cup, as his mobile phone rings periodically, launching Manoukian into a miscellany of languages Armenian, Arabic, French, English. But for Manoukian, music has always come first.
Music makes life better.
And I'm just lucky to be making money out of doing something I love. He has come far from a toddler tinkling at the keys. After performing at a school talent show when he was 17, Manoukian was picked up by Lebanese musician Elias Rahbani, who asked if he had any more songs in his repertoire aside from the one he had played for the concert a tribute to his mother called Astrik. Manoukian had a stockpile of 13-14 original compositions. Since 1998, Manoukian has produced four CDs.