Organ music festival opens in Yerevan with tribute to Komitas

With the support of Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Third International Organ Music Festival named after Vahagn Stamboltsyan opened at the Komitas Chamber Music House in Yerevan with a concert dedicated to Komitas.

This year the festival brings together leading traditions of organ music from France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. At the opening concert, Armenian organists and guest musicians performed works by Komitas, Nerses the Gracious, Makar Yekmalyan, Alexander Harutyunyan, Arno Babajanyan and other renowned composers. The program highlighted the richness of Armenian sacred and national heritage, blending the organ with cello, flute and trumpet. The evening also featured artwork by architect and painter Vazgen Brutyan, the ministry reported on Thursday.

The festival runs from September to December in Yerevan, Kapan and Charentsavan. Among the performers are Notre Dame Cathedral’s titular organist Vincent Dubois, British virtuoso Jonathan Scott, Sagrada Familia’s chief organist Juan de la Rubia and Rotterdam city organist Adriaan Hoek.

The next concert is scheduled for October 1, when Vincent Dubois will give a solo recital. The festival will conclude in December with a gala concert marking the 340th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach.