“SAYAT-NOVA” CULTURAL UNION

The “Sayat-Nova” Cultural Association was founded in 1995 on the groundwork of the “Sayat-Nova” Minstrel Song Ensemble. The Association’s mission is not only the preservation, but also the passing of the rich and immortal Armenian art of song on to the next generations, and the providing of assistance in the vital task of artistic and ethical disciplining of our progeny.

In 1997 the “Jivani” School of Minstrel Art was established where the Sayat Nova’s of tomorrow are educated. Members from the “Sayat-Nova” Ensemble teach at the School’s song and instrument classes. The creativity class is taught by Doctor of Philology and minstrel art specialist Shavigh Grigorian and musicologist and minstrel art specialist Elinar Shahen. Approximately 150 students attend the school. The latter has also become the birthplace of the Youth Minstrel Art Ensemble comprising 28 of the School’s best pupils.

Also in 1997 the Association of Armenian Minstrels was founded which embraces 40 minstrels of all ages. While the “Armenian Minstrels” Ensemble established in 2001 has made it possible for minstrels to go up on stage and give live performances. The performers are the minstrels themselves. The artistic director of the Ensemble is Minstrel Hover (Hovhannes Hairikian) and its instrumental director, Hrachia Mouradian.

The Armenian minstrel song is one of the richest layers of our culture, but compared with other realms it is studied and made public to a lesser degree. The specialists at the Center for Minstrel Art Study, established in 2001, collect and technically modernize the entire legacy of the Armenian minstrel. They compile the ancient minstrel songs preserved among the people, reincarnate and revise the works of present-day minstrels, and prepare collected works and song books. The director of the Center is the musicologist and minstrel art specialist Lusine Nazarian. Doctor of Philology and minstrel art specialist Shavigh Grigorian, Candidate of Philosophy and Professor Tovmas Poghosian, musicologist and minstrel art specialist Elinar Shahen, minstrel art specialist Tigran Sargisian, and music specialist Armine Hakobian are involved in the methodical research being conducted at the Center.

The “Sayat-Nova” Cultural Association also has its own recording studio. The works by “Sayat-Nova” Ensemble are recorded and also the students from “Jivani” School of Minstrel Art and the minstrels themselves make recordings at this studio.