Biography

Susanna Mildonian was born in Venice on July 2, 1940, in a family of Armenian origin. She grew up in a musical family: her mother and sister played piano and her brother and another sister played violin. She was attracted to the harp already at a young age.

Her first harp teacher was Margherita Cicognari' at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice. Afterwards she studied at the Paris Conservatory with Pierre Jamet.

She won the "International Harp Contest in Israel" in 1959, the "International Performers Competition" in Geneva in 1964 and the "Marcel Tournier - Paris International Harp Competition” in 1971.Untill now, she is still the only harpist who has won the first prize at each of these three prominent competitions.

Susanna Mildonian at the “Second International Harp Contest in Israël”, 1959.

Recording: Susanna Mildonian plays La Caccia, op. 9 Nr. 1 by Paganini at the Geneva Competition, 1964.

In 1971 she moved to Belgium, where she became professor of harp at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (Royal Conservatory Brussels). She remained active until 2005. For more than thirty years she trained numerous harpists. Her class was characterized by its international diversity, long before the existance of the European Erasmus Exchange program.

She also gave numerous master classes, including the ones at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and at the Centro di Cultura Musicale Superiore in Venice.

A Scarlatti sonata arranged for harp by Mildonian, edited in New York, 1974. E08805.

In addition to her assignment as an educator, she continued to play music, both solo and in orchestral settings, in Belgium as well as abroad. She also made a number of recordings for solo harp and in chamber music ensembles.

Currently she enjoys her retirement, her grandchildren and, of course, the beauty and expression of music.