Eurovision winner Maléna receives Armenian Scholarship to Berklee summer program
Internationally recognized singer-songwriter Arpine Martoyan, known by her professional stage name Maléna, will perform in Boston this summer after receiving the Armenian Scholarship to attend a coveted Berklee summer program, Berklee College of Music reported.
The 15-year-old emerging star will sing her hit “Qami Qami,” the song that won her the 2021 Junior Eurovision competition, at Armenian Heritage Park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway on Sunday, July 31, at 4:00 p.m. ET. The event includes refreshments sponsored by Anoush’ella.
Watch Maléna perform "Qami Qami” at the 2021 Junior Eurovision Song Contest:
Through the scholarship, Maléna gained sponsorship to this year’s Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive, a prestigious program whose alumni include Charlie Puth B.M. ’13 and Meghan Trainor, and offers one-on-one instruction with leading Berklee professors as well as college credit.
"It's only been two weeks, but I've already learned so much,” said Maléna about the Aspire program. “Not only have I sharpened my music skills by working with incredible Berklee faculty, but I've also learned to communicate with the different types of students from all over the world. We communicate through music, and that allows us to connect with each other in a deep way, which is incredibly uplifting to me.”
Inspired by the late Berklee professor, pianist, and composer David Azarian, as well as the excitement surrounding visits to the college from the genre-bending jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan(Opens in a new window), the Armenian Scholarship Fund at Berklee was founded in 2017 to bring more Armenian musicians to the college and to highlight the abundance of musical talent and innovation prevalent in Armenian culture. Past recipients include Arman Mnatsakanyan and Davit Paronikyan, both of whom are actively touring and performing in festivals worldwide.