The origin of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (NCOA) dates back to the Soviet era. It was founded by the violinist Zareh Sahakiants as the Armenian State Chamber Orchestra in 1962. In 1997 it was merged with the Yerevan Chamber Orchestra to form the new NCOA. As of September 2010 the Principal Conductor and Music Director is Vahan Mardirossian. In April 1997, Armenia’s Ministry of Culture extended a special invitation to American-Armenian conductor Aram Gharabekian and appointed him as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the newly formed National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. The twenty-five members of the NCOA exemplify the finest chamber music players in Armenia who are all graduates of the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan.

Events

The NCOA has appeared on tour with remarkable praise in the

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, Switzerland,

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, and the

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. Gharabekian also has led the NCOA to notable performances in the Canterbury Festival in England, the Halle Festival in Germany, and the Dimitria Festival in Greece. For their outstanding achievements Aram Gharabekian and NCOA have been duly recognized in a special proclamation by the United States Congress and televised features on ''CNN Special'' and Russian ''Kultura TV'' channel. Under the patronage of the First Ladies of

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, Gharabekian and NCOA officially opened the international celebrations honoring

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...

’s 100th anniversary in

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, and have been honored with a special concert at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia in Cyprus. The NCOA is the only performing ensemble in Armenia that is committed to a significant outreach program, Taking Music to the People, which offers free-of-charge performances to the regions of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, every season. During the last decade the NCOA has commissioned and premiered more than 40 new works and encouraged the integration of traditional Armenian musical instruments such as ''duduk, zurna, shvi'' and ''kamancha'' in the works specially written for the orchestra.

Media releases

Gharabekian and NCOA have recorded three CD albums of works by Armenian composers and have released two DVDs of live open-air performances by the magnificent backdrop of historic sites of

Garni Temple The Temple of Garni ( hy, Գառնիի տաճար, ''Gaṙnii tačar'') is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order, it is located in the village of Garni, in central Arme ...

(1st century AD) and Zvartnots Complex (7th century AD). The NCOA Gala Open-Air Concert DVD recorded live at the Garni temple in 2004 has been recognized with a special diploma at 2005 ''ECO-ETNO-FOLK'' Film Festival in

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. The NCOA won the prize for the ''Best Classical Music Project'' at the annual Armenian National Music Awards in 2008 for initiating and organizing the first-ever classical music festival in

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...

in September 2007.

Artistic Leadership

* Zareh Sahakiants Founder and Artistic Director (1962 – 1975) * Kostandin Baghdasaryan Artistic Director (1975 – 1982) * Ruben Aharonyan Artistic Director (1982 – 1996) * Aram Gharabekian Artistic Director and Principal Conductor (1997 – 2010) * Vahan Mardirossian Artistic Director and Principal Conductor (Since 2011)

External links

National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia
{{authority control Armenian culture Musical groups established in 1961 Chamber orchestras 1961 establishments in the Soviet Union