Meet Vasken Ohanian

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vasken Ohanian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vasken, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome hit me hard about 6-7 years ago. When you get out of music school, the first couple years feel really great and hopeful, but eventually the turbulent nature of the industry can start to get to you, especially during dry periods.

What got me through it was surrounding myself with people who were creating music at just as high a level as I was (if not higher). I know that probably sounds counterintuitive, but I’ve always approached growth and development in my art from the mindset that no matter how good you are, there’s always someone better than you; there’s always more to learn and more room to grow. Now obviously, you shouldn’t use this mindset as an excuse not to be kind to yourself; everyone is on their own path taking different speeds. But I found that by adopting this mindset, humbly, you start learning from the talented people around you. As you grow, you might also start to notice that these amazing friends of yours also have strengths and weaknesses, just like you, but different. That realization by itself almost entirely lifted the burden of imposter syndrome for me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

In a manner of speaking, what I do is do my best to ground myself in humanity. When you think of the things that make us most human, I think that music is near the top of that list. So as a career composer and musician, everything I do seeks to express the shared emotions and experiences of humanity and hopeful bring us all a little closer together.

One of the ways I try to do this is through my position as Assistant Artistic Director for the Unprecedented Music Association. UMA is an organization dedicated to putting on dynamic concerts of new music in the Los Angeles area, showcasing the local diversity of talent, and breaking down the barriers between artistic disciplines and genres. You can learn more at umamusic.org.

We actually have a concert coming up on March 14th called STARDUST. Just as stardust coalesces in the aftermath of a supernova to create a shining new star, we are bringing together the artists of Los Angeles for an immersive concert in the aftermath of the January wildfires. It’s going to be a surround sound experience with musicians, dancers, and visual artists all over LA where even you as the audience will get to participate. It’s gonna be a night you won’t want to miss!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

It’s really hard to choose just three, but if I had to boil it down…

First, an insatiable curiosity not just for music, but for the larger world around you. This world is wondrous, and the more you know, the more well rounded you become which in turn makes your art more engaging. Never stop learning.

Second, it takes luck. You might get lucky and still not make it, but with no luck there’s no chance. I’ve been fortunate to have incredibly supportive friends and family, and I’ve had mentors who appeared in my life right when I needed them most. As lucky as I’ve been, you don’t need the exact same support structure as I’ve had; Thankfully, luck can be manifested. You can study and perfect your craft so well that when an opportunity strikes, you’re able to take full advantage of it, or you can keep grinding and keep knocking on doors of opportunity until one strikes.

And finally, you have to absolutely love music with all your being to pursue a career in it. Most people only see the fun side of music where everyone is enjoying the performance. While those performances are definitely fulfilling, the other side of music is unstable and mentally/emotionally taxing. Unless you come from an affluent background, music careers have the potential to destroy your love for music with inconsistent income, rejection after rejection, constant self-criticism and need to improve, etc. If you’re not prepared for the level of hardship that will come, it’s better not to pursue a career in music. And that’s absolutely ok! It is absolutely valid to have a career with a stable standard of living and enjoy music as a hobby. Most major cities have musical outlets you can take advantage of to get the thrill of performing without torturing yourself with the grind of a music career.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

It’s funny, feeling overwhelmed isn’t something that I experience very often, but when I do it’s debilitating. What I’ve found that works for me is actually to slow everything down and breath. It’s so hard to do in the moment, but so necessary. It lets you take a step back and see the bigger picture. you can then ask the important questions like, “What most urgently needs to be done?” “What is in my power to control?” “Is this something I can take off my plate?” Once you do that and sort out your priorities, things tend to fall into place and feel more manageable.

If they don’t then, it’s time to ask for help. I understand, this is one of the hardest things to do, even for me. Maybe you don’t want to burden your friends and family asking for help; maybe you want to feel like you can do everything alone. The truth is though, we can’t do everything ourselves, as much as we might like to. Human beings are social creatures and we’ve made it this far by relying on each other in times of need. And if you have good friends and family, they will want to help you in times of need, just like you would help them if they came to you.

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Image Credits

Mariangela Quiroga
Diane Torrence
Carolyn Bremer

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