Armenne Derderian

Getting there IS the fun!  
As I rapidly approach 70, I realize that I am doing more of the same and loving it.  The consistencies in my life are what makes every transition smooth and “easy”.

I started cello at age 10 after being inspired by a fabulous string quartet concert at Jordan Hall.  At BU I studied with Richard Kapuscinski and spent a summer at Tanglewood.  The radical eye opener was that I HAD to continue playing cello but that I did not want to be a professional musician. 

At BU I majored in Russian in order to free Armenia from the Soviet Union – where did that come from  -  where did it go?  I was on the Steering Committee and later the Board of the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center in Watertown, MA;  I was on the Constitution Committee of a national Armenian women’s group; for twenty years I sang with an a cappella Armenian chorus which performed in MA, NH, CT, NY and Washington DC.

When I graduated from BU (1963) my father invited me to join the family camera business  - Park Square Bldg Camera and Photo –which he established in Boston in 1939.  When Carl and I got married (1981) we invited him to join.   Carl and I built out a new store in Boston and in  2006 we moved the business to Rockport, MA where we are open seven days a week from May through December.

We run a very popular and successful Leica Photographic Seminar each year (this will be our 22nd)  and I am happiest when the dates do not coincide with Boston Philharmonic concerts!  From December - April we are in Watertown acting “retired.”

I was in the original cast of characters in both the Boston Philharmonic and its Board and (who’s keeping records??) have near-perfect attendance at both!  The continued growth and development of the Boston Philharmonic gives me deep satisfaction.

Carl and I have two sons, Mark and Todd, and a grandson Joseph

I love gardening, reading, knitting, people and lemons – in equal order of importance!

Armenne also plays cello for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.