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About John Berberian
- John Berberian (born October 9, 1941) is an American musician known for his virtuosity on the oud, the Middle Eastern stringed instrument. Berberian was born in New York City; his parents were Armenian immigrants.
- His father, Yervant Berberian, was an accomplished oud player, as well as instrument maker, and oud masters of Armenian, Turkish, and Greek heritage frequented his family's home.
- John Berberian started his musical education learning the violin, but by the age of 10 began imitating his father on the oud.
- At the age of 16, he had his first job as a musician, playing the oud in a band in Whitinsville, Massachusetts.He graduated from Columbia University with a B.A.
- in economics, and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
- While a student, he performed regularly in Manhattan nightclubs.
- From the early 1960s, he recorded for a variety of labels including MGM, RCA, Roulette, Verve and Mainstream Records.
- He expanded beyond the ethnic music market in the mid to late 1960s, decades before "world music" became fashionable, with a series of LPs which explored fusions between traditional Middle Eastern music, psychedelic rock and jazz.
- These included Expressions East (1964), Music of the Middle East (1966), and Middle Eastern Rock (1969) with guitarist Joe Beck.
- He also set up his own recording studio and record label, Olympia.
- Simultaneously with his career as a musician, he worked as a purchasing agent in New York.Berberian has commanded the respect of musicians worldwide.
- He has been featured in numerous concerts and dances throughout the USA, Canada and South America, and is one of only a handful of musicians worldwide given the title of Udi (oud master).
- He now lives in Massachusetts.
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