A year of self discovery: failure, regret, and lost opportunities (Post 2/15)

A year of self discovery: failure, regret, and lost opportunities (Post 2/15)
Year 2010-2011

The year 2010-2011 was a period of profound self-discovery that significantly impacted my approach to work and planning in the subsequent years. During this time, I learned to maintain my drive, ask important questions, and uncover the reasons to continue on this path.

In my urgency to find a graduate school, I made a quick and uncalculated decision. I believed that attending graduate school for conducting was the ultimate goal, not realizing that creating and conducting an orchestra offered a greater educational opportunity. I ended up at a school in a small college town, hours away from any major city—an environment I was unaccustomed to, with limited opportunities. I managed to complete a semester there.

Although this was a significant educational moment, it was ultimately a wrong decision that could have been avoided. I spent most of my time at the school regretting the move, missing the orchestra I had built, and feeling discouraged by the lost opportunities. Eventually, I left the small-town college, moved back to California to live with my parents, and reevaluated my future plans.

Adjusting to being back home was tough. I had to come to terms with not only failing to identify the right next steps, questioning my career path, but also losing valuable opportunities and a supportive community I had created. Musically, it was largely insubstantial. However, I did conduct at a composer/conductor festival, which provided an opportunity for a premiere by a young composer and allowed me to study with Don Thulean.

Tigran Arakelyan, conductor, music director, orchestra, symphony, Armenian, American

A rare picture from the week-long festival/masterclass (Fall 2010).