Since 2006, the AGBU Sayat Nova International Composition Competition has been inviting musicians of all heritages to be inspired by the grand tradition of Armenian arts. For the past fifteen years, composers have been creating original pieces inspired by the works of Armenian poets, for ensembles combining traditional Armenian instruments and western classical instruments. This year, close to forty submissions were received from 18 countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Lithuania, South Africa, and Venezuela.
This year, we were delighted that our director, Tatevik Ayvazyan, was invited to be on the jury for this groundbreaking competition, marrying music and poetry. We are thrilled to announce that this launched a collaboration between Armenian Institute and the AGBU Sayat Nova International Composition Competition to select a winner of the Armenian Institute Special Poetry Award as it occurs once every two years. This collaboration will provide composers with more opportunities for exposure, such as features in our podcasts, online publications, and special events.
In Tatevik’s own words “it was even sweeter to learn that my job was to read Vahan Teryan, one of my favourite poets, to assess the use of his poetry accompanying the compositions. I loved every moment of it and enjoyed hearing the music jury's opinions. 4 excellent winners emerged, with interesting interpretations of Teryan's lyrical, tender poetry and musical solutions.”
This year, the Armenian Institute Special Poetry Award was given to Nune Yeremyan from Artsakh, for her use of poetry in her piece “Night”. Tatevik comments that she was struck by Yeremyan’s expert weaving of two poems and music. We look forward to many more years of this exciting collaboration, and special thanks to Hayk Arsenyan, the head of AGBU Performing Arts for involving us in this exciting programme!
