Conductor of PTSO to direct final concert

Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 25, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — After nine years of leading the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra, Tigran Arakelyan will conduct his final concert as director on Sunday.

The free concert will take place at 2 p.m. at the Chimacum High School auditorium, 91 West Valley Road.

During his time with the orchestra (PTSO), the group saw a swell of musical confidence, a rebranding, a robust and sometimes unconventional programming calendar, which included music from local composers, showcasing local soloists and bringing in distinguished soloists from elsewhere.

Arakelyan started a chamber music series and a young artist competition. He increased the orchestra’s visibility by hosting a radio show on KPTZ 91.9 FM for two years.

Arakelyan expressed gratitude for his time with the group, which often sent him home with cookies or some other tasty package.

When he first started with PTSO, its identity as a community orchestra carried with it some negative associations, he said.

“I felt like they (were) like, ‘Well, we’re OK, we don’t really play well.’ They just didn’t feel like they believed in themselves,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that they believe in themselves and they know that we can do more than they think they can do.”

When former concert master and current orchestra member Kristin Smith wrote to Arakelyan, telling him he made the orchestra believe in themselves, it meant a lot to him.

As accomplished soloists from the Seattle Symphony, Canada, Los Angeles and Las Vegas came to play with PTSO, its musicians began to feel excited to practice more seriously.

Composers began to compose for the orchestra too, Arakelyan said.

Arakelyan shared that his reasons for stepping down from the post are both personal and artistic. When he started with the orchestra in 2017, he had just married. Now he has three young children.

The part-time role has always been a commute for Arakelyan, whose family has moved from Seattle to Lynnwood, then from Lynnwood to Puyallup since he started with the orchestra.

“There’s a lot of work when you have three kids,” Arakelyan said. “So (I’m) just making sure I have enough time with the family.”

Born in Armenia, Arakelyan spent part of his youth in Los Angeles, where much of his family lives now.

Along with his position with PTSO, Arakelyan has been the director of youth orchestras in Bainbridge and Federal Way.

The only director position he will hold in the immediate future is of the Northwest Mahler Festival. In August, Arakelyan will conduct about 140 singers and musicians as they play Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony, the longest well-known symphony, at an hour and a half.

“I want to take this time to have more guest conductor opportunities,” Arakelyan said.

Arakelyan said he has a lot of connections with orchestras in California and across Washington state.

In his time directing different orchestra programs, Arakelyan has limited his time working with other orchestras, always wanting to devote enough time and energy to his appointments.

“The main exciting part (of considering my next season) is the variety and the flexibility,” Arakelyan said.

Working with a greater number of orchestras and soloists over shorter periods of time can bring a special energy to collaborations, Arakelyan said.

He also hopes to resume a project in which he brings orchestras into unconventional venues like bars, cafes and homeless shelters.

Arakelyan started doing those concerts, in which the PTSO has participated, in 2009, when he brought an orchestra into a Seattle bar.

“We had like this 30-piece orchestra in a bar; crammed, crowded and playing Beethoven,” he said.

Arakelyan’s parents, musicians themselves, always listened to a wide range of music, including classical, rock, folk, Armenian music and jazz.

In addition to his interest in bringing classical music into unconventional spaces, Arakelyan has maintained an interest in bringing the many genres of music into classical music.

Arakelyan said he is interested in breaking down barriers and bringing people into the sometimes-isolated world.

On Sunday, the orchestra will perform a piece composed by Arakelyan’s friend, Luke Fitzpatrick, requiring about 30 musicians.

The remainder of the music is selected film compositions recommended by Arakelyan’s longtime friend, Pat Yearian, a founding member of PTSO.

The film music will be performed by about 60-65 musicians.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.