Margarita Parsamyan loves being on the stage.
Her performance life began at 4 years old when her mom took her to join a children’s choir. Parsamyan then attended a music school beginning as a 7 year old, a step that she explained is common for kids in post-Soviet countries. She began to play piano while there and after a few years, she started taking voice lessons. After Parsamyan watched some operas, she discovered her true calling in life.
“I realized that that's what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Parsamyan shared. “I want to be on the stage. I want to act as someone else on the stage and try to go through all the emotions that this person is going through. Opera is a mix of acting, music, visual arts, and dance, and that fact of me being in the center of all these arts and representing them just attracted me so much. I knew from the age of 13 that I'm going to become an opera singer one day.”
Even though she had always dreamed of pursuing a career in music, Parsamyan initially majored in business at OU and planned to work in art management to still have that connection to the arts. But she quickly realized her passion was still in music, and she switched her major.
“So many things happened for me to change my profession, and I was so grateful for the opportunities that OU gave me at that time,” Parsamyan said. “I was selected to be part of the productions when I was not even part of the music school, so I was like, ‘I guess this is a sign to change my major as well.’ I am so grateful for that because the experience at OU was fabulous. We have a great fine arts school, with tons of opportunities for people to perform all the time and be on stage.”
Parsamyan added that she is grateful that OU has its own opera house, Holmberg Hall, where she has been able to perform. Her music school experience has been based on several performances, and that has helped her build up her resume for her next step in life.
In July, Parsamyan is spending the month in Chicago with the Chicago Summer Opera. Then, next fall, Parsamyan will attend the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music to pursue her master’s degree in vocal performance.
“I look back and I think I had the best university life possible for me.”
- Margarita Parsamyan
In addition to her roles in performances, Parsamyan has also been part of the Women’s Chorus Association and the International Advisory Committee at some point during her time at OU. Additionally, even though there isn’t an official Armenian Student Association, Parsamyan was involved with organizing with fellow Armenian students to organize events and participate in showcases to introduce others to their culture.
Parsamyan, a United World Scholar, attended UWC Dilijan College in her home country of Armenia. While at OU, she and one of her friends, Ofelya Baghdasaryan, participated in the Davis Projects for Peace. The duo worked to create job opportunities for women living in five Armenian villages bordering Azerbaijan. Parsamyan and Baghdasaryan connected with an NGO called “Wool to Carpet” to teach the women how to make carpets that they could then sell at a local hotel and several festivals to provide them with some financial independence.
Reflecting on her time at OU, Parsamyan said she used all the opportunities available to her and encouraged other students to also explore the university’s resources and become involved in the campus community.
“At the end of the four years, you'll always remember the people that you met and the experience that you got … I think people should really use these four years for building connections and having the best university life,” Parsamyan shared. “I look back and I think I had the best university life possible for me.”
