Aram Satyan was born in
Yerevan (Armenia) into the second generation of a musical family. His father
Aram Satunc (Satyan) and uncle
Ashot Satyan were also notable composers. He studied at the
Romanos Melikian Music College under Armenian composer and educator
Edvard Baghdasaryan and then later at the
Armenian State Conservatory with
Edvard Mirzoyan and
Alexander Arutiunian. In 1970 Satyan went on to postgraduate study at the
Moscow Conservatory with
Tikhon Khrennikov. At the time, Khrennikov was Chairman of the
Union of Soviet Composers. On his advice, Satyan joined the union in 1971. His awards include First Prize in the 1969 Young Composers Review held in Moscow, for his
Symphonic Variations. He went on to win national competitions in 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1979. In 1981, he won the Armenian Communist Union State Award. In addition to his symphonies and concertos, he has also composed over 300 songs, music for film and theatre productions, and two pop
operas:
Lilit and
Little Cakhes.
Lilit was composed in 1983 and described as the first Armenian work ever composed in this style. Satyan resides in Armenia and is still actively engaged as a composer and performer. ==Pop songs==