Research Institute of the South Caucasus and a CD of his music was released on Other Minds Records in 2023, described by The Wire as exercising “a powerful fascination.”

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Much of Bohigian's work around memory and diaspora is influenced by his Armenian heritage. He was raised in Fresno, California, a major hub of Armenian-American life since the late 19th century, and lived in Yerevan, Armenia from 2019–2020, where he studied composition with Artur Avanesov, conducted research at the Komitas Museum-Institute, and taught a laptop orchestra at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. His research of various musical styles from Armenia and the diaspora has resulted in sound installations for the Komitas Museum-Institute and Armenian Museum of Fresno, a collaboration with the Rerooted Archive creating a musical setting for its recorded testimonies of displaced Syrian-Armenians, and a forthcoming collaboration with Khatchadouor Khatchadourian creating an evening-length work about the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov with songs by the 18th century ashugh Sayat Nova.

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Joseph performs as a founding member of Ensemble Decipher, a group dedicated to working with vintage, contemporary, and emerging technologies. He has recently performed with Decipher at the International Computer Music Conference, Roulette Intermedium, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Society of Electro-Acoustic Music Conference, and Network Music Festival. He has curated concerts of music by living Armenian composers with the Fresno State New Music Ensemble for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide featured on NPR’s Here and Now and The California Report as well as for the Composer’s Voice Concert Series in New York, for which he was called a “triple-threat” by Time Out New York for his role as curator, composer, and performer. Bohigian also produces broadcasts of contemporary music for Music from Other Minds on KALW in San Francisco and interviews with composers on the Other Minds Podcast and the music/technology-focused series Decipher This!.

 

Bohigian holds a PhD and MA in composition from Stony Brook University, where he studied with Nirmali Fenn, Matthew Barnson, Margaret Schedel, Perry Goldstein, and Dan Weymouth, and a BA from California State University Fresno, studying with Kenneth Froelich and Benjamin Boone.

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Short Biography

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Joseph Bohigian is a composer and performer of acoustic and electronic music. His work focuses on issues of memory, cultural reunification, and diaspora. With a strong interest in reestablishing a relationship with lost elements of our past to better envision our future, he makes use of archival materials in his music, such as sound recordings, interviews, and written texts, synthesizing fragments of song lyrics and reviving ancient musical notations. Bohigian’s music has been performed at the International Computer Music Conference (Limerick, Ireland), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), TENOR Conference (Melbourne), Suoni Per Il Popolo (Montreal), New Music Gathering, and Aram Khachaturian Museum Hall (Yerevan) by the Mivos Quartet, Decibel, Great Noise Ensemble, Argus Quartet, and Playground Ensemble. He performs as a founding member of Ensemble Decipher, a group dedicated to working with vintage, contemporary, and emerging technologies, and produces broadcasts of contemporary music for Music from Other Minds on KALW in San Francisco and interviews with composers on the Other Minds Podcast and the music/technology-focused series Decipher This!. Bohigian holds a PhD and MA in composition from Stony Brook University and a BA from California State University Fresno.

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Click here for press photos.

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Press

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"In a Nostalgic Glimpse at the ’70s, Armenian Museum of Fresno Captures a Vibrant Generation Through Photos and Sound"

Anahid Valencia, Munro Review, July 8, 2025

"Bohigian debuted a…soulful, ear-tugging sound installation that transported me immediately to the Armenian Highlands."

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"San Joaquin Spotlight: Dr. Joseph Bohigian," March 27, 2025

Sevag Tateosian interviews Joseph Bohigian about his Stone Dreams installation showing at the Armenian Museum of Fresno.

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"Composer's Voice features Joseph Bohigian," June 22, 2024

Robert Voisey of Vox Novus interviews Bohigian.

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​Review of The Water Has Found its Crack by Barry Kilpatrick, American Record Guide, March/April 2024

"Beautiful, haunting string sounds…"

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​Review of The Water Has Found its Crack by Julian Cowley, The Wire, January 2024

"Bohigian…has created forms that bring the individuality of speaking and singing voices into intimate and intricate relationship with instrumental textures that carry an aura of shared and perpetuated cultural identity…The dynamics of storytelling, filtered through the fragmentary structures of memory, exercise a powerful fascination."

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"Joseph Bohigian Connects Armenian Traditions to Diasporic Culture on Debut Album"

Clover Nahabedian, I Care If You Listen, January 10, 2024

"Bohigian’s music becomes more than a celebration of the resilience of Armenian culture – it’s been elevated to a rallying cry."

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Ajam Podcast #34: Finding Home through Armenian Music with Joseph Bohigian

Ajam Media Collective, February 22, 2021

Kamyar Jarahzadeh and Rustin Zarkar interview Bohigian about The Water Has Found its Crack, which explores concepts of displacement, dispersion, and cultural preservation in Armenian music.

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"5 Questions to Joseph Bohigian (composer-performer)"

I Care If You Listen, February 11, 2021

Mary Kouyoumdjian interviews Bohigian about the influence of Armenian culture on his work.

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The Process: Joseph Bohigian - The Journey of an Armenian/American Composer, February 5, 2021

Doug Bielmeier interviews Joseph Bohigian.

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Let’s Talk Off the Podium Ep. 144: Joseph Bohigian, composer and performer, January 25, 2021

Tigran Arakelyan talks to Bohigian about his time in Armenia, electronic music, graphic scores, and more.