Ara Topouzian, Neighbor

Showing an interest in music in his early youth, Ara played music throughout the public school music program and in college, he began studying Armenian and Middle Eastern classical and folk music. Initilly performing with a local Armenian wedding band, Ara eventually branched out and began performing as a solo and ensemble musician throughout the United States. Today, this Michigan-born, Armenian-American musician's proficiency at the kanun (76-stringed laptop Middle Eastern harp) has made him a nationallyrecognized and award-winning artist. He has performed at music festivals and many celebrated venues with top world music artists.

In 1991, he created American Recording Productions (ARP) with the intent to record and preserve this type of world music. To date, his award winning record label has produced over thirty recordings of Armenian and Middle Eastern music.

He has performed at several Armenian weddings and social events, world music concerts, nightclubs, and folk festivals throughout the country. Ara’s music has been featured in several PBS documentaries that have been aired nationwide.

Along with a multitude of Detroit-based world musicians, Ara has performed with several well known Armenian, Greek, and Middle Eastern performers and ensembles throughout the country. He also has performed with jazz, fusion, rock, and blues artists/ensembles across the country and most recently performed in Sean Blackman's In Transit ensemble at Detroit Orchestra Hall in from of over two thousands patrons and in January, 2012, Ara was invited to perform as a guest soloist with the Virginia Commonwealth University Symphony to perform an original concerto written for the kanun.