Slava Grigoryan

Slava Grigoryan (born 1976) is an Australian classical guitarist and recording artist of Armenian heritage. He frequently collaborates and performs with his younger brother, fellow guitarist Leonard Grigoryan, performing as the Grigoryan Brothers.
Early life.
He was born in Kazakhstan to Eduard and Irina Grigoryan, both professional violinists. His family emigrated to Australia in 1981 and he was raised in Melbourne. Grigoryan began to study guitar with his father at the age of seven. By the age of twelve he was performing professionally and made his solo debut in Sydney at fourteen. He attended Caulfield Junior College (then known as Caulfield North Central School) and St Michael's Grammar School, during which time he studied with Ron Payne, and at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Career.
Following his win at the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, where he was the youngest finalist in the history of that competition, Grigoryan signed with Sony Music Entertainment in 1995 for whom he released four solo albums. Since then he has toured extensively in Australia, Europe, North America and Asia; he made his New York City debut in 1997.
He changed labels to ABC Classics in 2001 and subsequently released another solo album and an album recorded with his younger brother, Leonard. Frequent collaborators, the pair perform as Grigoryan Brothers and have released five albums, all of which have been nominated for ARIA Awards. In 2014 Grigoryan Brothers released "This Time" which has been well reviewed. Some of their previous releases include "The Seasons" and "Distance".
Grigoryan also joined with fellow Australian musicians Anthony Field, Karin Schaupp and Gareth Koch to release albums under the group name Saffire. Field was later replaced by Leonard (see Saffire article).
He has been artistic director of the Adelaide Guitar Festival since 2010.
Personal life.
Grigoryan has two children Isabella and Paolo from his first marriage. He married cellist Sharon Draper in December 2016 and their son Sebastian was born in July 2018
Awards and recognition.
In addition to his achievement in the Tokyo International Classical Guitar Competition, he has won a number of awards including Young Australian of the Year for the Arts in 1998, the Mo award for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2001.
In 2000 he appeared as a soloist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and was part of the 2000 Sydney Olympics Arts Festival.
AIR Awards.
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
ARIA Awards.
The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Slava Grigoryan won his first ARIA Music Award for "Sonatas & Fantasies" in 2002. In total, he has won four.
South Australian Music Awards.
The South Australian Music Awards (previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012.