InternationalMaestro Aram Gharabekian strives for excellence
The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia embarks on North American tour
Published: Saturday August 30, 2008
The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia performing at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, the Cascade, Yerevan.
Armenian-American conductor Aram Gharabekian received a special invitation from Armenia's minister of culture in 1997 to come to Armenia. At the time, the Armenian State Chamber Orchestra was merging with the Yerevan Chamber Orchestra to create the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. This new organization needed a director with vision, experience, talent, and determination. Gharabekian was conducting in Germany, but had returned home to Boston because his father had fallen very ill. He was faced with a difficult decision. He knew he had to be there for his family, but he also remembered his father's lifelong dream to move the entire family to Armenia. "My father would always say, ‘If Armenia is calling you, you have no right to decline,'" recalls Gharabekian, and in the end, his father's words are what made up his mind. Since 1997 he has been the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (NCOA).
The NCOA, Armenia's premier world acclaimed orchestra, will embark on a tour of North America at the end of August, in honor of William Saroyan's centennial. Under the dynamic leadership of Gharabekian, the NCOA is in its 11th season of lauded performances and distinctive programming.
Born in Iran in 1955, Gharabekian moved to the United States at a very young age. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston with a master's degree in composition and continued his studies in musical phenomenology at Mainz University in Germany. He studied conducting in Italy and returned to Germany, where he became one of the few conducting pupils of the legendary Sergiu Celibidache.
As founder, music director and conductor of the Boston SinfoNova Orchestra from 1983 to 1991,
harabekian won national recognition and praise for his innovative and enterprising programming. He has led several acclaimed orchestras from around the world, including the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Sinfonietta München, the Ukrainian National Symphony, and the Fresno Philharmonic. He has won several prestigious awards including the 1988 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Award for Adventuresome Programming. He was twice honored with the Harvard Musical Association's Best Performance Award and his performances have been singled out as ‘Best of the Year' four times by the Boston Globe.
Prior to his appointment to the NCOA position, Gharabekian had visited Armenia on a few occasions. "When I was invited as guest conductor for the Armenian Philharmonic, and when I went to the conservatory," he says, "I saw that we had wonderful potential, but it had not yet been explored to its limits." And so as artistic director and principal conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, he set off to explore these limits.
"I knew it was a big challenge, but I didn't know how big," says Gharabekian, "We had to introduce completely new approaches, new administrative methods, a new structure, a new musical repertoire. We didn't have a budget or funding. We didn't even have paper to write on." He realized very quickly that his task was not only to conduct the orchestra and provide creative direction, but to act as fundraiser, administrator, and wear many different hats. "My job is a 24-hour continuous series of tasks," says Gharabekian, "It's a never-ending process." Nonetheless, he thoroughly enjoys this process and gives it his all. According to Gharabekian, the challenges he faces today are actually far greater than the ones faced in the orchestra's formative years. "You'd be surprised," he says, "People used to be a lot more open-minded then."
The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia is a state orchestra, but since state funding is minimal, the administration has had to find alternate means of funding. A big boost came in 1998 through the generous support of Vatche and Tamar Manoukian of London. Since then, the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Benevolent Association (VTMBA) has provided crucial additional funding, playing a vital role in the NCOA's continuation as a world-class orchestra.
Over the past decade, despite trying conditions, the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia has given highly lauded performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece, Russia, Georgia, Cyprus, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
Aside from international touring and frequently performed concerts at home in the Komitas Chamber Music Hall in Yerevan, the NCOA is committed to a significant Outreach Program, bringing music to the people living in the regions of Armenia. Through this program, the NCOA holds free performances several times a year, bringing classical music to communities where live performances are rare. The orchestra has performed in school houses and decaying cultural centers, often taking their own equipment, including chairs, microphones, and even the occasional light bulb. But the NCOA has also performed in ancient monasteries, historical sites, and monuments, such as Garni and Zvartnots Temples. In 2003, they performed on the front lawn of the College of Applied Arts and Sciences in Shushi, Nagorno-Karabagh. The concert aroused a great deal of enthusiasm and support for the reconstruction efforts of the College and called awareness to Shushi's historical significance as an artistic, cultural, and academic center.
The upcoming North American tour in honor of William Saroyan's centennial, will mark the NCOA's fifth visit to the continent. Fittingly enough, the tour will begin in Fresno, the celebrated author's hometown, on August 28. The Orchestra was invited by the city of Fresno to open the statewide celebration of the world-renowned author's life and accomplishments. "On behalf of the entire orchestra, I am honored and very touched that the city of Fresno decided to invite us to open the celebrations," says Gharabekian.
