Mansurian was born in Beirut. His family moved to Armenia in 1947 and settled in Yerevan in 1956, where he was educated.[3] He studied first at the Romanos Melikian Music School under the Armenian composer Edvard Baghdasaryan and later at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.[4][5] His "Monodia" album was nominated for the 2005 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)" and "Best Classical Contemporary Composition."[6]