© Quentin Houdas
Attracted to the world of art from an early age, Michel Petrossian began with painting before studying cello and guitar, eventually turning to composition. He pursued his studies at the Paris Regional Conservatory (CNR) and various municipal conservatories before joining the Paris National Conservatory of Music and Dance (CNSMDP). There, he earned a Higher Diploma in Composition under Guy Reibel and explored additional fields such as Ethnomusicology (with Gilles Léothaud) and North Indian Classical Music (with Patrick Moutal). During his studies, he co-founded the Cairn Ensemble, dedicated to promoting contemporary repertoire. Early on, he received residencies and commissions both in France and abroad, including selection by the Royaumont Foundation for a Franco-Canadian exchange with Montreal's Nouvel Ensemble Moderne.
Petrossian developed a passion for ancient civilizations, studying about ten related languages. He completed a Master’s in Classical Studies at the Sorbonne, spent a year at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem, and traveled extensively to countries tied to ancient history.
These experiences profoundly influenced his compositional approach. His piano concerto In the Wake of Ea, inspired by a Babylonian tablet, won the Grand Prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Composition Competition in 2012. Since then, prestigious commissions have led to performances worldwide, including the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Domaine Forget in Canada, Zipper Hall in Los Angeles, the Tatev Monastery in Armenia, and the Théâtre du Châtelet.
In 2014, Petrossian was commissioned to create Ciel à vif, a large-scale work for soloists, choir, and orchestra. Premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet under Alain Altinoglu’s baton in 2015, it was broadcast via satellite to several countries and aired on France 2 in 2018. Another significant commission came from the ensemble Musicatreize in 2015. His Horae quidem cedunt… for 12 solo voices debuted at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and was performed internationally, including in New York.
In 2016, Petrossian participated in a high-profile concert at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris, patronized by Princess Caroline of Hanover. Alongside composers Gad Barnéa and Thierry Escaich, he presented a piece based on texts from the Book of Jeremiah in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. In 2017, he premiered Amours sidoniennes, a large-scale choral and instrumental work commissioned by the French government, inspired by Greek inscriptions he discovered during archaeological excavations in Beit Guvrin, Israel. This work was performed again in 2022 at the Grand Auditorium in Lyon.
For the opening of a new gallery dedicated to icons at the Petit Palais Museum in 2017, Petrossian created Chanter l’icône, a multidisciplinary work combining music, text, and imagery. This piece has been performed multiple times since its debut at the Petit Palais.
In 2018, his opera-oratorio Le Chant d’Archak, written for Musicatreize and the Radio France Choir on a libretto by Laurent Gaudé, premiered at the Tatev Monastery in Armenia and the Radio France Auditorium. In 2022, France Musique dedicated a two-hour portrait to him, featuring this hour-long work in full.
Petrossian has been commissioned by various U.S. institutions. In 2015, pianist Andrew Tyson premiered the revised version of La lutte ardente du vert et de l’or at Carnegie Hall, earning praise from The New York Times. He has also created works for the University of Michigan and the Dilijan Chamber Music Series in Los Angeles, including A fiery flame, a flaming fire (2017) and Liber Secretorum Henoch (2019), inspired by his time in Ethiopia.
Expanding his musical interests, Petrossian composed original scores for films, including Robert Guédiguian’s Gloria Mundi (2019) Et la fête continue! (2023), and Stealing Angel (2025), as well as the Cannes celebrated and multi-awarded The Marching Band/ En fanfare (2024) of Emmanuel Courcol for which he also featured as the musical adviserRecent international projects include Stilleven for solo violin, premiered by 25 competitors at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition (2021), Paris Aubaine, a song cycle performed in Brussels (2022), and To sange af Emil Aarestrup, presented in Denmark. His ballet Sept, les anges de Sinjar debuted at Monaco’s Salle des Étoiles in 2022, receiving critical acclaim and a five-star rating from Classica magazine.
In December 2022, Petrossian released his first monographic vocal music album, Trois amours, with Musicatreize, earning five stars in Classica. His literary pursuits include Chant d’Artsakh, which won the 2022 Grand Literary Prize from L’Œuvre d’Orient.
Selected for the Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs in 2022, he won with L’Ange Dardaïl for solo cello. Following this, he received a commission for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, his Timkat for large ensemble based on his trips to Ethiopia premiering in May 2024.
His Concerto pour violoncelle 8.4, recorded with Alexander Chaushian and the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra, was released by BIS Records in 2023. Currently, he is working on a chamber opera, scheduled for a 2025 premiere in Geneva.