Ani Bukujian, Marin Symphony Concertmaster
Appointed June 2023
It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Ani Bukujian, an esteemed alumna of Juilliard and San Francisco Conservatory, as the new Concertmaster for the Marin Symphony. Her selection marks a significant milestone in the orchestra’s 70+ year history, as Ani becomes only the third violinist to hold this esteemed position, following in the footsteps of Jeremy Constant who stepped down in 2022.
Ani Bukujian was born into a musical family and started playing the violin at two and a half years old. When her grandmother gifted her with a toy violin, she would stand in front of the television while imitating famous violinists, such as Sarah Chang and Itzhak Perlman. Ani studied with her father exclusively until the age of 15. A native of Los Angeles, she won numerous musical competitions, including three gold medals at the World Championship of Performing Arts, first place at the Bach Competition, the ASTA Annual National Solo Competition, and the Pasadena String Festival. At the age of 7, she was a solo performer in her debut concert with a chamber orchestra at the Alex Theatre in California. Ani was also part of the Viva-Vivaldi All-Girl Orchestra in Washington, DC, being the youngest 1st violin in the orchestra. At the age of 8, she was asked to perform a solo piece with the Bakersfield Symphony, where she played one of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Summer). As an AGBU scholarship recipient, she performed at Weill Recital Hall in her freshman year at The Juilliard School in 2012.
She has recently performed as a member of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. She has served as Concertmistress in the Miami Summer Music Festival, where she played the solo of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra. She has also participated in other festivals, such as Bowdoin Music Festival and Fontainebleau Festival in France. She has performed in venues such as David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie’s Stern, Zankel, and Weill Hall as a chamber and orchestral musician as well as a solo performer. Ani has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Ian Swensen, and Dimitri Murrath and participated in masterclasses with teachers including Andres Cardenes, Aaron Rosand, Ruggiero Ricci, Abraham Shtern, Gerard Poulet, Dmitry Berlinsky, Ida Haendel and Pamela Frank among others. She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Lewis Kaplan and Laurie Smukler.
After moving from New York to San Francisco, she attended the San Francisco Conservatory, where she studied with the concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, Alexander Barantschik. Ani is now the Principal Second Violinist of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.