Aram Gharabekian - National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (1998)

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Aram Gharabekian - National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (1998)

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This recording represents an historic and unique synthesis of the ancient and the contemporary featuring a world premiere recording in the spectacular ambience of the Geghard Monastery in Armenia.
The Orchestra’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, American-Armenian conductor Aram Gharabekian, has brought the NCOA into a new era of artistic triumphs and international acclaim since his appointment in 1997. For their outstanding achievements in Armenia and in other parts of the world, Maestro Gharabekian and NCOA have been duly recognized in a proclamation by the United States Congress and televised features on CNN Special and Russian Kultura TV Channel.
Under Gharabekian’s dymanic leadership, the NCOA has performed with remarkable acclaim to capacity audiences in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece, Russia, Georgia, Cyprus, Lebanon, and United Arab Emirates, 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, Aside from a rich record of international performances and concerting at home, 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 Karabakh, every season. Unequivocally committed to promoting the music of our time, Gharabekian and the NCOA have commissioned and premiered over 40 new compositions and recorded three CDs of works by contemporary Armenian composers.
Aram Gharabekian

Aram Gharabekian, according to Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer, "knows how to inspire an orchestra to give him what he wants." Currently the Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, Mr. Gharabekian has led this critically acclaimed ensemble on tours to Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Switzerland, England, Russia, Lebanon, Georgia, Germany, Canada and the U.S., where in 2001 they made their Lincoln Center debut as part of their second American tour. They issued their first compact disc of Armenian works, one of which was recorded in the ambiance of the historic 4th century Geghard Monastery in Armenia.

Mr. Gharabekian was formerly the Principal Guest Conductor of the Ukrainian Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra in Kiev. He led them in recording their first compact disc, featuring Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, which was released in 1996 on Russian Disc's "Audiophile Series". Following a critically acclaimed guest appearance with the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra in 1991, Maestro Gharabekian was invited by the Ukrainian Minister of Culture to assume the position of Artistic Advisor and Conductor. During his tenure with that orchestra he conducted performances in Kiev and on tour throughout Ukraine, and successfully regenerated its artistic and organizational capacity.

During his eight years as Music Director and Conductor of the Boston SinfoNova Orchestra, Aram Gharabekian won national recognition and praise for his innovative and enterprising programming, as well as his critically acclaimed performances in major American venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Boston's Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall. Active as a guest conductor, Mr. Gharabekian has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic, and appeared with the Sinfonietta München in Germany and Italy. He has also led the Ukrainian National Symphony, the Ukrainian State Opera and Ballet of Kiev, the West Ukrainian Philharmonic in Lvov, the Armenian Philharmonic, and returned to America to conduct the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra in Louisiana and the Fresno Philharmonic in California. On New Year's Eve in 1999 Mr. Gharabekian led an orchestra and chorus in Hangzhou, China of 300 musicians from 6 countries in a televised millennium celebration concert featuring Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

The recipient of the 1989 Lucien Wulsin Performance Award for the best concert performance aired on America's National Public Radio, Mr. Gharabekian was also awarded the 1988 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Award for Adventuresome Programming. He was twice honored by the Harvard Musical Association's "Best Performance Award" and his performances have been singled out as "Best of 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1991" by the Boston Globe. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal for his contributions to the arts in Armenia.

Born to Armenian parents, Aram Gharabekian moved to the United States at a very young age where he continued his studies in composition and piano. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston with a Master's degree in Composition, and continued his postgraduate studies in Musical Phenomenology at Mainz University in Germany. He studied conducting with Franco Ferrara in Italy, and in 1979 became one of a few conducting pupils of the legendary Sergiu Celibidache in Germany. He was also granted a fellowship to study composition and conducting under Jacob Druckman and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts.

Mr. Gharabekian has commissioned and premiered several works by American and non-American composers, and has introduced and conducted a number of orchestral works for the first time in America. His concert recordings have been broadcast regularly on American National Public Radio, and he has made numerous recordings for Ukrainian, Croatian and Armenian Radio and Television, Boston's WBZ-Television, WBUR, WGBH and WCRB FM radio stations in Boston, WNYC FM in New York, the Voice of America in Washington, and Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich.