Armenian State Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the VIII International Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest-ever winner in the competition’s history. In 2005, he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.
This 23/24 season Sergey’s international presence is sustained by performances with Dresdner Philharmonie (Emmanuel Tjeknavorian), Korean National Symphony Orchestra (Oksana Lyniv), Ulster Orchestra (Daniele Rustioni), Orchestre National de Belgique (Michael Schønwandt), Queensland Symphony (Otto Tausk), Auckland Philharmonia (Chloé van Soeterstède), Bochumer Symphoniker (Kahchun Wong), and two major tours: an extended Spanish Tour with the Basque National Orchestra (Euskadiko Orchestra) conducted by Stanislav Kochanovsky and a North American Tour with the Armenian National Philharmonic – among the destinations are Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Maison Symphonique in Montreal, and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Acclaimed as a cultural leader in his native Armenia and increasingly in demand on the international stage, Sergey Smbatyan is founder, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. In September 2019, he became Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra following highly successful tours of Germany, Austria and the United States with the orchestra, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein and Carnegie Hall.
Armed with the experience of building a symphony orchestra from scratch, Sergey Smbatyan has created four other orchestras in recent years. In 2015 he founded the 24/04 Orchestra to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and the “Generation of Independence” All-Armenian Choir and Orchestra to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. He also founded the UNICEF Children’s Chamber Orchestra, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Pan‑Armenian Symphony Orchestra, an initiative intended to unite Armenians around the world. The remit of his work as educator and innovator extends to "DasA", a high school project offering a close-up experience with classical music.
Sergey Smbatyan’s guest conducting career has flourished in recent seasons, leading to concerts with Sinfonia Varsovia, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and, among others, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin. He returned to the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2021/2022 season for a European tour comprising concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie and the Vienna Musikverein and is set to direct the օrchestra’s first UK tour in the 2022/2023 season.

Aram Khachaturian was a Soviet Armenian composer best known for his Piano Concerto (1936) and his ballet Gayane (1942), which includes the popular, rhythmically stirring “Sabre Dance.”

Khachaturian was born to an Armenian family, and his first experiences of music were the folk songs of his mother and of his hometown of Tiflis (later Tbilisi), Georgia. He was later trained at the Gnesin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute in Moscow and at the Moscow Conservatory and was a professor at both schools from 1951. As a young composer, he was influenced by contemporary Western music, particularly that of Maurice Ravel. In his Symphony No. 1 (1935) and later works, this influence was supplanted by a growing appreciation of folk traditions, not only those of his Armenian forebears but also those of Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. His Symphony No. 2 (1943) was written for the 25th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. His other works include a symphonic suite, Masquerade (1944; from incidental music for a play by Mikhail Lermontov); the ballets Happiness (1939) and Spartak (1953; “Spartacus”); a Third Symphony; a violin concerto (1940); a cello concerto (1946); and numerous shorter works. He also composed the music for the Armenian national anthem as well as film scores and incidental music.

Biography from Brittanica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aram-Khachaturian

Now a celebrated symphony orchestra at home and overseas, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra emerged from a group of devout enthusiasts of classical music with the shared vision of championing spiritual excellence through music and upholding the musical traditions of their native Armenia.
The orchestra performs over 50 concerts in Armenia and across the world annually. The rich and diverse repertoire of the orchestra covers multiple genres and performance formats, ranging from symphonies to ballet and opera music to symphonic arrangements of popular and cinematic music or jazz interpretations of classical music.
Along with recurrent debut performances of great masterpieces from the world heritage of classical music, the orchestra places a considerable importance in exposing contemporary and young composers as well, featuring new works in its mainstream programming.
Reputed to have finely distinct quality of sound and emotionally charged performance style, the orchestra has long become an awaited guest in leading concert halls around the world.
Together with its Founding Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Sergey Smbatyan, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra has established four annual classical music festivals, hosting in Armenia a multitude of internationally renowned virtuoso performers and conductors over years.