We were lucky to catch up with Lily Marange recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Yes, I am. Being an artist, performing and sharing my music is my essence, this is who I am, this is my air, my food. Creating something, giving birth to something new, given as a divine gift, which I can share with people is the most fulfilling and overwhelming feeling I’ve ever experienced.
It has been circumstances in my life that I had to sacrifice music and do totally different thing for living. I had to choose between starving or letting down my family and pursuing my music artist career further. Back then, like about 10-15 years ago I had also other paths to choose from, paths which would have secured a faster growth in my career and a top-quality life. But those paths were not mine.
Currently I manage to combine a regular job and artistic career. I am happy to teach music (piano and vocals) to both kids and adults and at the same time continue writing music and planning new music projects.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a singer/songwriter in pop, dance/pop and AC genres. I am originally from Armenia, but currently live in Germany. Since my early childhood I’ve been literally living music. Our house has always been filled with music. I started attending music school, piano class with my sister when I was 6. Later I entered the music collage and completed the piano class. During my years of study, I have always been active when it came to performing as a vocalist or presenting own compositions. (I had already started writing songs back then).
A turning point in my music career was when I recorded my first song “Priceless Gift” at “Ardzagank” Studio, a famous Armenian music production company back then. The video based on the song “Otar Amayi Champeqi Vra” (Wandering in Foreign Lands) was voted third overall in popularity in 2007. I have participated in local and international singing and songwriting contests, being one of Top 20 finalists as a performer in 12th Annual Unisong International Songwriting Contest and in November 2009 being selected one of top 5 vocalists in “Best Vocalist of the Month” Competition, SingerUniverse Online Magazine.
It was in the same year when I moved to the United States to study Voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In June 2010 I was awarded Semi-Finalist Certificate together with composer Alex Wartan for the song “I’m Leaving” in the UK Songwriting Contest 2010. Early in 2011 I signed a publishing deal with ACM records for the song “Stay with Me” co-written with composer Alex Wartan.
In the year of 2011 I moved to San-Diego, where I had a number of live performances, including solo performances at different local venues, participation in the shows organized by Afton Booking Agency as well as a number of gigs with local band “The Sensations”.
In November the same year I had a chance to work with a 6-time Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nominated hit songwriter Jud Friedman. We recorded and produced one of his songs “The Truth Is” in his local studio in LA.
In November 2013 I released my first album “Eros” signing a marketing and distribution deal with Tate Music Group based in Oklahoma, USA. In December 2013 I had a concert in Geneva, Switzerland with composer/pianist Alex Wartan. Maestro Charles Aznavour was among honorable guests.
Since 2014 I have been living in Ludwigsburg, a baroque city in southern Germany. Since then I have performed in different venues in Ludwigsburg, Stuttgart and surrounding cities. such as Die Luke e.V.,, Scala Ludwigsburg, Bürgerhaus Möglingen, Theater Stuttgart, Kulturzentrum Ludwigsburg and many more. I have also cooperated with The Bauer Studios ( the oldest privately owned German recording studio, founded in 1948 and became known for recordings for the ECM Records label, among others) to record some of Armenian folk songs from my repertoire.
In November 2023 I gave a concert at Photostudio, Yakup Zeyrek in Kornwestheim, Germany, a concert evening with poetry within the scope of the charity event in favor of the Mario Pradella Foundation.
Since early 2024 I have been collaborating with producer Zach Wolf to record my new single “Tu-Du”, which has been released quite recently, January 2025.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Throughout my artistic journey I’ve had many ups and downs. But I would like to tell a story from my life, which made me stronger and the person I am now.
During my years of study at the music college in my home country I used to have a very strict piano teacher (piano was my major). It was so extreme that I used to cry after almost each lesson. I didn’t dare to laugh or smile on the day I had her lesson, because I was afraid if she saw me in the corridor she would give me a criticizing look (which happened before). I had to concentrate on practicing and don’t get distracted by anything else. I remember, my heart would jump out of fear every time the phone rang. The thought that this could be her, would keep me in expectation mode and would ruin my whole day.
During the lesson she would go crazy about a note that hadn’t sounded the way it was supposed to. I was so intimidated that I would hardly speak or sing (sometimes she would ask me to sing a phrase before I play on the piano) with a normal voice. So she came to a conclusion that I don’t have a singing talent, I don’t have a voice at all. Nevertheless, she was indeed a highly respected professor, an expert in her field. So I learned a lot from her, and most of all I learned to keep practicing and striving for quality and high standards.
When I look back now, I understand that if I haven’t had such an experience in my life (even though it was a bad one) I wouldn’t have learned to keep going no matter what, not to give up when being criticized and to keep believing in myself.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I feel this thrive and inner conviction that I want to tell my story to people, I want to share my experience and pass on some important messages, And the best way I can do this is through my music, through my songs.
Besides, my goal as an artist/performer is to reach people’s hearts and to try to make a difference with my music, to encourage people, to motivate them, to make them reconsider their values and priorities in life. The best thing that happens at the end of each concert is when people approach me with warm words of appreciation, with their hearts touched and filled with abundance of emotions. That’s what makes me happy, that’s a great reward for my work.
I believe that each person has a mission in this life and my mission is to talk to people and share emotions through music. My motto is:
Music and love go together as they are both divine!

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilymarrange/about
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-marange-0574089/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY6R4FUYC3k
• Other: https://www.reverbnation.com/lilymarange

Image Credits

Michael Agyan, Jasmina Vrcko, Yakup Zeyrek