Sona Esperti-Igityan
Born into a family of artists, Swiss-Armenian pianist Sona Igityan started studying the piano when she was seven years old, at one of the best music schools in Yerevan, her hometown. She was lucky enough to become a student of an exceptional teacher, Venus Haroutunian. Thanks to her first teacher, Sona acquired a particularly deep and smooth sound as well as a supple piano technique. Three years later she gave a remarkable performance of Bach's piano concerto in G minor with the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. Sona was selected for broadcasting on National Radio at the age of twelve and won the prize for the best performance at the New Names Festival in Yerevan at the age of seventeen.
Sona was advised by renowned teachers such as Willy Sarkissian in Armenia, Elisabeth Athanassova, Michel Kiener, Jean-Jacques Balet and Paul Coker in Switzerland and Paco Moya in Spain. She obtained her soloist and chamber music diplomas at Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan in 1996 and Master of Music Performance at Haute École de Musique de Genève in 2007.
At the age of 14 she began her concert career and since then has followed as a soloist and also as a chamber musician in different cities in Armenia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. In Switzerland she regularly plays in musical events such as Musique en été in the Old Town, the Piano Festival Concertus Saisonnus, Festival du Jura, Fête de la Musique de Genève, Centre Phénix in Fribourg, La Primaire gallery, etc.
Sona Igityan's repertoire includes different periods and styles, from baroque to contemporary music. Having a sound preference for modern music, she often ensures the performance of pieces by contemporary composers such as Ashot Zohrabian, Edouard Sadoyan, Karl Haydmayer and Shauna Beesly.
In 2015 she was appointed artistic director of Graine de Music association and is mainly in charge of promotion of piano classical and modern music.