Winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award from The Solti Foundation U.S., conductor Aram Demirjian has built a reputation as an insightful interpreter of the symphonic repertoire and drawn praise for his "rejuvenating" (Washington Post) leadership as Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Widely considered an engaging, “even electric” (San Francisco Classical Voice) presence on the podium, he is sought after for his “graceful, energetic direction” (Sarasota Herald Tribune), dynamic programs that broaden the idea of what one can expect to see on the symphonic stage, and distinctive ability to speak to, cultivate, and connect with audiences.

As the eighth Music Director of the KSO, Aram has led the orchestra to new artistic heights and national distinction for its achievements. A devoted champion of American music, Aram has grown the ensemble’s repertoire through bold programming with broad audience appeal, particularly emphasizing music by living composers, artists from underrepresented groups, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

In 2020, the KSO was selected as one of four orchestras to be featured at SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, presented by The Kennedy Center and Washington Performing Arts. Under Aram's leadership, the KSO has executed several ambitious commissions including Michael Schachter’s Violin Concerto: Cycle of Life, a joint commission by the KSO and Knoxville Museum of Art inspired by the work of East Tennessee glass artist Richard Jolley; Derrick Skye's Between Suns: A Concerto for West African Drums and Orchestra in collaboration with Knoxville-based drum ensemble Indigenous Vibes; and #KSO1x1, a set of 24 digitally-premiered micro-commissions for solo KSO musicians. The KSO is also a regular presence in the nationally-renowned Big Ears Festival. Notable upcoming KSO projects in the 2025-26 season include performances of Wynton Marsalis' Swing Symphony with Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Beethoven's Violin Concerto with Midori, participation in the League of American Orchestra's Toulmin Orchestral Commissions Program for the second time, and 9 for 90, a celebration of the KSO's 90th season comprising 9 world premieres across all of the KSO's classical series including works by Jennifer Higdon, Jonathan Leshnoff, and Robert Paterson.

With his notable passion for oratorio repertoire, Aram is increasingly in demand for his interpretation of Handel's Messiah, which he has led in recent years in Knoxville and as guest conductor with the Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony, in a debut that was praised as, "a winning combination of vocal excellence and imaginative interpretation...no ordinary Messiah performance" (Seattle Times). As a guest conductor in 2025-26, Aram returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra in its 125th season and debuts with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Other recent highlights include a debut with the San Diego Symphony where he drew praise for “his majestic but rigorously detailed account of [Beethoven's] Fifth Symphony” (San Diego Story), frequent collaborations with The Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as appearances with the symphonies of Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Nashville, North Carolina, Omaha, Portland, San Jose, Santa Rosa, St. Louis, Tucson, and Utah; the Louisiana, Orlando, and Rhode Island philharmonics; the Florida, Minnesota, and Sarasota orchestras; plus festival appearances at the Big Ears Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center’s Festival of Contemporary Music. Internationally, Aram has conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Orchéstre Métropolitain de Montréal. Aram also has had the great pleasure of mentoring future generations of young musicians through work with the New England Conservatory Symphony, Massachusetts All State Orchestra, Mostly Modern Festival Orchestra, and as a clinician and guest lecturer at numerous colleges, conservatories, and grade schools in the cities that have been his professional homes.

Speaking from the stage at his first concert as KSO Music Director, Aram made a promise to the audience that the KSO would “bring the music out to the community and spirit of Knoxville into the concert hall,” and he has lived up to that commitment through a series of acclaimed, distinctive artistic collaborations within the community. Recent highlights have included a fully-staged production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide with Clarence Brown Theatre; choreographed performances of Manuel da Falla’s El Amor Brujo and Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Appalachian Ballet Company; annual free site-integrated chamber music performances at the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum; and performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony incorporating an ensemble from Tennessee School for the Deaf performing the Ode to Joy in American Sign Language. Early in his tenure, Aram instituted KSO: UnStaged, a series of experiential, multi-sensory events in nontraditional settings around Knoxville, co-curated by partners including craft breweries, yoga studios, and even an airplane manufacturing company.

Throughout his career, Aram has worked with internationally renowned conductors Sir Andrew Davis, Stéphane Denève, Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Louis Langrée, Fabio Luisi, Kurt Masur, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Antonio Pappano, and collaborated with an illustrious roster of artists including Julia Bullock, Michelle Cann, Lara Downs, Augustin Hadelich, Stefan Jackiw, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Nicholas Phan, Jason Vieaux, and Joyce Yang. At ease with a breadth of musical vocabularies, Aram has also performed with an eclectic assortment of artists from other genres, including Ben Folds, Bill Frisell, Shabaka Hutchings, John Lithgow, Aoife O'Donovan, Shara Nova, and Bobby Watson.

In addition to being honored with the 2020 Solti Award, Aram also received the 2017 and 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Awards; a 2018 Solti Foundation U.S. Buccheri Opera Residency with Lyric Opera of Chicago; and the 2011 Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize from the Aspen Music Festival, where he was a three-time Conducting Fellow in the Aspen Conducting Academy. From 2012 to 2016, he served as Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony.

The proud child of an immigrant family, Aram is American-born and of Armenian descent. He holds a joint Bachelor of Arts in Music and Government from Harvard University, and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from New England Conservatory. A native of the Boston area, he currently resides in Knoxville with his wife, Caraline, their baby daughter, Ani, and their goldendoodle, Kermit.