Born into a musical family, Armenian-American violist Cara Pogossian’s musician journey began at an early age. Whether it was tagging along with her parents to their various concerts and music festivals, or participating at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music from the age of 8, music was a central part of her existence. To this day, Cara is fortunate enough to consider her parents and two siblings her colleagues. In 2020, the Pogossian/Manouelian Clarinet Quintet collaborated with composers Timo Andres, Ian Krouse, Artashes Kartalyan, and Aida Shirazi, premiering each of their works in a series of online concerts.

An avid chamber musician, Cara has performed at numerous summer festivals, including the Marlboro Festival, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Tippet Rise, and Taos School of Music. This upcoming summer, she will be attending Yellow Barn and the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. In 2022, Cara was the winner of the Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, and, more recently, her quartet was selected as a 2022-2023 Honors Ensemble at the New England Conservatory. She has had the privilege of collaborating and performing with many of the leading figures in classical music, such as Mitsuko Uchida, Don Weilerstein, Ida Kavafian, Joseph Lin, Marcy Rosen, Peter Wiley, Kim Kashkashian, Max Levinson, and the Borromeo String Quartet. 

Cara is the Principal Violist of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared as a guest musician with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Boston Pops Orchestra. She has performed at several high-profile concerts as an AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) Scholarship recipient, and is a 2024 recipient of the St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award. Last year, Cara was named the winner of the NEC Concerto Competition, culminating in a performance of Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the NEC Philharmonia. Engagements this season include performances at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts as an Evnin Rising Star, Music at Bunker Hill, Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and a Musicians from Marlboro tour. 

Cara recently completed her graduate studies with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory of Music, as the recipient of the Abraham Skernick Memorial Presidential Scholarship. She had previously studied with Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory at the Curtis Institute of Music.