Originally from Avignon, Emmanuel Arakélian has, from a very young age, developed a passion for ancient and modern keyboards; initially trained at the Regional Conservatory of Toulon, then at the National Conservatory of Paris, he simultaneously studied the organ, the harpsichord, the basso continuo as well as chamber music under the guidance of such leading figures as Pascal Marsault, Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard, Olivier Baumont and Blandine Rannou.
Awarded numerous international prizes, and regularly hosted in renowned festivals, Emmanuel Arakélian has little by little established himself as one of the leaders of his generation, due to his versatility and knowledge of the repertoire, on organ and harpsichord.
He is invited to famous festivals, both in France and abroad, including the musical season of Radio-France, the Roquevaire Organ Festival, the Festival International des Grandes-Orgues de Chartres, the Royaumont Foundation, the Festival de Saintes, not forgetting the Bach festival in Lausanne (Switzerland), the Mozartfest of Würzburg (Germany), the festival of early music in Utrecht (The Netherlands), and other venues in Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic and Canada.
Emmanuel Arakélian plays with equal interest the contemporary repertoire, namely composers like Vincent Paulet, Valery Aubertin, Edith Canat-Chizy, Thierry Escaich or Bernard Foccroulle, who frequently appear on the programmes of his concerts.
As the tenured organist on the legendary Great-Organ Isnard of the Basilica of Saint-Maximin, he has created, in partnership with the local authorities, the Summer festival known as ‘Harmonies d’orgue’, and the ‘renaissance de l’académie de Saint-Maximin’ of which he is the artistic director.
In November 2016, he became the seventh ‘Young Artist in Residence’ at the Cathedral of New Orleans (Louisiana), which got him for almost six months to perform regularly on several of the great scenes of North-America.
Very committed to passing his art on, Emmanuel Arakélian has been a professor of organ at the ‘Pierre Barbizet’ Regional Conservatory of Marseille since 2019.
