On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre in downtown Fairfield held a concert for the performer, João Kouyoumdjian. Kouyoumdjian is a Brazilian-born classical guitarist who performs Brazilian and Spanish music.
Kouyoumdjian has played many shows throughout his career, including venues such as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and multiple appearances at Carnegie Hall.
Assistant professor for the Performing Arts, Joseph Carter, is a professional musician and guitarist. Being a fan of Brazilian music, Carter did research on Kouyoumdjian and his work, before asking him to perform at the Community Theatre.
Photo of João Kouyoumdjian who performed at the SHU
Community Theatre on Nov. 5.
The SHU Community Theatre has different performances scheduled for the spring 2025 semester. Carter said that they already have three to four performances planned to take place at the theater, randing from all different kind of music genres and styles.
Aside from performing his own pieces, Kouyoumdjian is a professor to music students at various music institutions.
“João Kouyoumdjian resides in the greater New York City area where he is on faculty at The Diller-Quaile School of Music, Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Music Center and Newark School of the Arts,” Carter said in an email to the university.
Junior Olivia Plyler attended the concert. Plyler said Kouyoumdjian’s performance was inspirational and moving. Plyler is a guitarist as well, so she said she resonates with this performance specifically.
“As a musician and specifically a guitarist myself, seeing João Kouyoumdjian perform was incredible. He made me want to push myself harder and improve in my own guitar playing,” said Plyler. “Classical guitar is all fingerpicking and the way he was able to make it sound almost as if he were playing more than one instrument was mesmerizing.”
Matthew Oestreicher, Executive Director of the SHU Community Theatre, said that the performances are decided by a variety of departments.
“We collaborate with different departments to get ideas for performers at the theatre,” said Oestreicher.
Oestreicher said that all students are welcome to attend the performances and events that take place at the theatre and that there are usually different performances each week.
“We’re active year round, and we did 200 events last year. We also have a very diverse pie to think of all the communities around us and how we serve for everyone around us,” said Oestreicher.
The SHU Community Theatre wants to bring the community together to enjoy these shows and musicians. People in the community can see these performances at the SHU Community Theater in Fairfield, Conn. located on Post Road. Tickets for non-Sacred Heart students are $10, and free for Sacred Heart students when they present their SHU Campus Card.
The SHU Community Theater is open to the public and also provides the opportunity to rent out the theater to different organizations to view films. To learn more information, you can reach out to Matthew Oestreicher or visit @shucommunitytheatre on Instagram for all upcoming shows and events.
