This oral history interview with Chris Ayzoukian was conducted by Sankar Raman, Lindsey Keefer, and Nancy Dollahite on December 22, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

In this interview, Ayzoukian discusses his Christian Armenian family background, and his early life in Beirut, Lebanon, during Lebanon's civil war, including his education. He shares his memories of immigrating with his family to the United States in 1984. He talks about adjusting to life in Los Angeles County, California, including living in an Armenian community in Pasadena, learning English, and the jobs his father held. He talks about the life of his mother, Lilia Boteva, who was a Bulgarian actress before she married Ayzoukian’s father and moved to Lebanon. He discusses how his life as an American citizen differs from the lives of his parents. He talks about his love of art and music, and about studying music at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He speaks extensively about his work at the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1999 to 2017. He shares his reasons for moving to Portland, Oregon, and talks about his work as general manager of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, a new arts center that was being built at the time of the interview. He closes the interview by discussing his hopes for the future of the arts center.