Petros Shoujounian was born in Gumri, Armenia in 1957.

He studied Violin and Composition at the College of Music in his native city, and also gained expertise in Armenian Choral Music.

In Montreal in 1976, Shoujounian pursued his studies at the Quebec Conservatory of Music under Gilles Tremblay for his MA in Composition (1982). As musical director of two Montreal Armenian Choirs, Knar and Alemshah, he published records of the works of Armenian composers and the Holy Mass.

Establishing himself as a Canadian composer, Shoujounian worked over the years with numerous orchestras, such as I Musici de Montreal, NEM, Kitchener, London (Ontario), Laval and with soloists like Marie-Josée Simard, Pierre Jasmin, Jean Laurendeau, and others.

The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, an internationally acknowledged tragedy in which more than one and a half million Armenians died, was commemorated in 2015. To mark this anniversary and draw our attention to this tragedy, I have written four string quartets, all based on Armenian liturgical chants.

Atma Classique lable NORAVANK Petros Shoujounian Quatuors à cordes nos 3-6 Quatuor Molinari

For the 100 years of anniversary of Armenian Genocide he composed ‘’Mess and Requiem 2015’’ Chœur St-Laurent, dirigé par Philippe Bourque

Organiste:
Phillip Crozier

Solistes :
Sasha Djihanian, soprano
Marie-Annick Béliveau, mezzo-soprano
Elie Berberian, ténor
Vartan Gabrielian, basse

Production :
L’Église Apostolique Arménienne Sourp Hagop de Montréal

"Le Testament de NANOR" de Barsegh Ganatchian orchestrated and arranged by Petros Shoujounian, conducted by Élizabeth Harboyan , the children choir Nor Tzaghik. Montreal 2014.

"Komitasin" for string orchestra, two percussion, two vocal soloists. Viva Voce conducted by Peter Schubert Montreal 2010.

The Oratorio Sourp Khatch (The Holy Cross), dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, was premiered in 2001 in Toronto, with the Elmer Iseler Singers and Sinfonia Toronto, conducted by Nurhan Arman.

For the same occasion, Petros Shoujounian orchestrated and arranged Armenian spiritual music for chamber orchestra choir and soprano solo. CBC produced a CD (JOYOUS LIGHT) with Isabelle Bayrakdarian, conducted by Raffi Armenian.

SNE has published a CD (1997) featuring the works of Petros Shoujounian, which received the Best Modern International Award by AMFA of Los Angeles in 1999.

Establishing himself as a Canadian composer, Shoujounian worked over the years with numerous orchestras, such as I Musici de Montreal, NEM, Kitchener, London (Ontario), Laval and with soloists like Marie-Josée Simard, Pierre Jasmin, Jean Laurendeau, and others.