Dr. Suren Petrosyan is in his first season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Shoals
Symphony at UNA and serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North
Alabama, conducting the University Orchestra and teaching cello. Prior to his appointment at
UNA, he served as Music Director and Conductor of the Mason Symphony in Michigan; he
conducted orchestras and taught cello at Arkansas State University, at Creighton University,
and at Alma College. He has conducted concerts with symphony and chamber orchestras in
Germany, France, Armenia, Canada, and the United States. Passionate about education, Dr.
Petrosyan spends each summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where he serves as Assistant
Conductor of the Blue Lake Opera, as well as teaches cello and conducts faculty and student
ensembles.
As an active cellist, Dr. Petrosyan regularly performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and
member of several orchestras around the country. Most recently he performed as soloist with
the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra in Maryland with Aram Khachaturian’s Concerto Rhapsody
for Cello and Orchestra. Recently, he has performed and curated chamber music concerts at
Webster University, Arkansas State University, Louisiana Tech, the University of Louisiana at
Monroe, the Music by Women Festival, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp’s Summer Arts Festival.
He has played with the Omaha Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Sioux City Symphony,
Texarkana Symphony, and many others.
Dr. Petrosyan holds degrees in Orchestral Conducting and Cello Performance from Michigan
State University and the Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia.