Tanya Gabrielian

NAMI Mercer presents a benefit concert at The Pennington School featuring Tanya Gabrielian performing works by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Gershwin on Sunday, October 8 at 3 p.m. Goodwill offerings will be solicited, with all proceeds going to support NAMI Mercer programs and services. The Pro Musicis Foundation and The Pennington School are partnering with NAMI Mercer to make all this possible. For more information, visit www.namimercer.org. 

Tanya Gabrielian believes art is a symbol of hope and artists are uniquely positioned to effect positive change — both in individuals and communities. Her conviction grew out of a particularly challenging personal experience.

While studying abroad at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Ms. Gabrielian slipped during martial arts training and twisted her spine. A month-long ordeal followed, during which she, who was a teenager, had to navigate a foreign medical system alone, undergoing two serious operations and landing in nine different hospitals. She found comfort in listening to recordings of Bach’s unaccompanied works.

The music not only helped her transcend physical pain and psychological isolation, it moved her beyond immersion in the practice of music, focusing her instead on the pure experience of music.

On September 12, Ms. Gabrielian released a debut album on MSR, Remix, featuring piano arrangements of Bach solo cello and violin works, the music that profoundly influenced her recovery and her development as an artist. A tour will accompany the album’s release, to include Ms. Gabrielian’s participation in a Weekend of Wellness activities with NAMI Mercer N.J.

The weekend’s activities, part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, will commence with a master class at The Pennington School on Thursday morning, October 5. On Friday afternoon, October 6, Ms. Gabrielian will perform a community outreach concert for the patients and staff at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. As part of Harvest of Hope, NAMI Mercer’s Annual Wellness Conference, on Saturday, October 7, Ms. Gabrielian will team up with John Haag, executive director of Pro Musicis, to lead a music and wellness workshop. Finally, on Sunday afternoon, October 8 at 3 p.m., Ms. Gabrielian will perform a benefit concert for NAMI Mercer. The event will be held at The Pennington School Campus Center in Pennington, N.J. The public is invited to attend.

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