Faculties > Vocal-Theory

This fact, as well as the presence of some basic departments in the Faculty staff (Music Theory, Music History, Armenian Folklore Studies, Languages, Social Sciences and Physical Culture Departments) determines the important role of the Faculty in the organization of the study process in the Conservatory, as well as in its scientific, concert and social activity.

Vocal Art Department

The adoption of Christianity as State Religion in Armenia (301), appearances of churches and sacred music (psalms, sharakans, etc.) have stimulated the development of the professional vocal art. Together with the sacred music, the secular vocal music also developed. The choral polyphony bases have started to shape in Armenian music, traditionally monodic. All the European music genres have arisen.

In 1868, the first Armenian opera - "Arshak II" was created by T.Chukhadjyan. The latter is also the author of the first Armenian operetta and romance.

With the opening of the Conservatory, the Armenian vocal art gets the new development impulse. Such singers as Pavel Lisician, Zara Dolukhanova, Gohar Gasparyan are bound up with Vocal Departments of the Conservatory. Lisician was the first Soviet singer who performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera ("Aida", 1960).

The victories of YSC students and graduates at the most prestigious international competitions prove the high level of the vocal teaching at the Conservatory. The list of those who have become laureates only within last years is quite impressive: Barsegh Tumanyan, laureate of competitions in Russia, the Netherlands, Argentine, Italy; Hasmik Hatsagortsyan (Russia, Argentine, Italy, Portugal), Susanna Martirosyan (Russia, Italy, France), Hasmik Papyan (Russia, Austria, France), Arax Davtyan (Italy), Konstantin Simonyan (Argentine), Anahit Mkhitaryan (Italy, Spain), Julietta Galstyan (Greece) are only some of them.

The both Vocal Departments of the YSC include experienced, highly professional teachers. Among them - People's Artists of USSR and RA, Laureates of State Prizes: Gohar Gasparyan, Gohar Galachyan, Sergey Danielyan, Valery Haroutyunyan and the others. A number of Vocal Art department's lecturers and professors as well as students currently studying at these Departments are international competitions' prizewinners.

Music History and Theory Departments

Being basic departments, they provide lectures on all the basic music theory and history subjects (history of music, solfeggio, music theory, harmony, analysis, polyphony, etc.) for students of all the departments.

The second function of the both departments is preparation of historicians and theorists of music. The students of these departments will become scientists and musical critics, musical radio and television of editors and, of course, lecturers of musicological subjects at musical education institutions.

The Music History and Theory Departments, led by Professors Araxi Saryan and Robert Amirkhanyan correspondently, have many highly professional teachers and scientists. Among them three Doctors of Arts - Anna Arevshatyan, Karine Djaghatspanyan, Svetlana Sargsyan.

Opera Studio

It is situated in the Conservatory building. It has a concert hall (275 places) with orchestra pit and theatre stage. The Studio possesses its own symphony orchestra (50 players), mixed choir (40 persons) and soloists. Besides, the Studio staff includes stagers, producers, conductors, painters, costumiers, stage workers. The main aim of the Studio is staging the operas, where the Vocal Art Departments students perform all the roles.

The Studio repertoire includes many important operatic compositions' too numerous to mention. Among them - "Cosi fan tutte" (Mozart), "Aleco" (Rakhmaninov), "Porgy and Bess" (Gershvin), "Cavalleria rusticana" (Mascagni), "Der Apotheker" (Haydn), "La donna servietta" (Pergolesi), "Il Barbiere di Seviglia" (Rossini), "Prometeus-12" by Haig Vardanyan…. The Studio Orchestra, choir and soloists perform not only operas. Thus, they have performed recently Bach's Mass under the direction of the Studio Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Prof. H. Mirzoyan in Moscow, St. Petersburg and cities of USA, as well as compositions by Mozart and other authors.

Thanks to the practice got in the Studio, the students easily enter the Yerevan Opera Theatre as also well as many opera theatres all over the world, after graduating from the Conservatory.

Choir and Symphony Conducting Department

The choirs have been gathered at schools and institutes, kolkhoze and factory clubs. "The Armenian Musical Society" stated that in 1990, before the disintegration of USSR, about 60 professional and more than 200 amateur choirs functioned in little Armenia, where the folk music is monodic as a rule. And almost all these choirs, with rare exceptions, have been led by the YSC Choir Conducting Department graduates.

The teaching of symphony conducting in the YSC was influenced by Konstantin S. Saradjev - outstanding musician and public figure, founder and leader of the Symphony Conducting Department of Moscow Conservatory, professor of Moscow (1922-1935) and Yerevan (since 1936) Conservatories.

Being removed from Moscow to Yerevan, K.S.Saradjev has become the Principal Conductor of the Yerevan State Opera and Ballet Theatre and the YSC rector. On his initiative, the preparation of symphony conductors has started in the YSC. Many years, from 1940-ies until the very end of XX century, almost all the symphony orchestras of Armenia have been conducted by his students.

Highly qualified specialists having graduated from the Conservatory have led orchestras also outside Armenia - in Ossetia (State Philharmony), in Moscow (Cinematography Orchestra), Philharmonic and Opera orchestras in some cities of USSR and CIS. Many choirs and symphony conductors, who have studied in the YSC, successfully work abroad. They conduct orchestras and choirs in Iran (Zakar Keshishyan), USA (Arsen Sayan), and Canada (Harut Fazalyan).

Armenian Folk Instruments Department

The Armenian Folk Instruments Department has a particular place in the Vocal-Theory Faculty. It prepares musicians with higher education, who play the folk instruments like shvi (blul, sring), duduk, qanon, tar, kamancha, ud, bambir, santhur, etc. Some instruments, as, for example, shvi, are spread only in Armenia, or in Armenia and Georgia (duduk/duduki); the others have wider area. Thus, tar is the instrument used not only by Armenians, but also by Georgians, Persians, Azerbaijanians and even Uzbeks. All these peoples inhabited the East. During centuries, not only the trade exchange took place between these countries and peoples, but also the mutual impact and cultural diffusion.

The Folk Song Class is a particular branch of the Folk Instruments Department. One can study there the styles of different genres of the folk singing: peasant, urban, ashugh and sacred styles. The best Armenian folk song performers and folk instruments players teach at this Department, led by Prof. Arzas Voskanyan.

Armenian Folklore Studies Department

The title of this Department can describe its activity. It consists of the collecting and preparation of the computer data of gathered material. The Department organizes lectures for all the Conservatory students on Armenian folk music (this subject is facultative for foreign students).

Besides, the Department systematically compiles and edits books and articles, as well as Armenian folk music sound recordings. The professors of this Department have published textbooks and other research works on the history, theory and methodology of folklore studies. The Armenian folk instruments performing art is studied as well.

The research works by Komitas and other outstanding investigators of the Armenian folk music are the base of the scientific and practic activity of the Department, led by Prof. Alina Pahlevanyan. Doctors of Art Anna Arevshatyan and Lilit Yernjakyan work at this Department.

Composition Department

The YSC Composition Department has played an enormous role in the development of the composition art in Armenia. Thanks to the professional mastership and pedagogical talent of its founders and first leaders - Vardges Talyan and Sargis Barkhudaryan, the Department has become the alma mater of almost all the Armenian composers. The composers who provided the upward flight of the Armenian composition school after the Second World War, acknowledged by the Soviet and World music society, have studied here. Besides the music by the Moscow Conservatory graduate Aram Khachaturian, also the works by YSC graduate composers Arno Babadjanyan, Edvard Mirzoyan, Alexander Harutyunyan, Lazarus Saryan, Edgar Hovhannisyan, Avet Terteryan, Tigran Mansuryan and others, representing different generations, were performed all over the world.

The YSC Composition Department has had also foreign students who have later distinguished themselves with the fruitful activity in their countries: Shafan Nahari (Lebanon) - the author of the first Arab opera, Juan Yelanguezian (Argentine), Hasmik Indjikdjyan (Canada), and the others.

Pop and Jazz Music Department

It is the youngest YSC Department; it was created less than 10 years ago. Its organization was conditioned with the raising interest of the society towards this genre. And though many active and constantly appearing pop and jazz ensembles and bands included professional musicians, the lack of special education in this field of music was negatively reflected on their activity and prevented from the development of this art in Armenia. The acute necessity of musicians with special pop and jazz education was the reason of organization of this Department in the YSC.

All the instruments used in pop and jazz music, as well as the pop and jazz singing, are taught at this Department. It includes the best specialists of the Republic. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the National Radio and Television Band, Prof. Yervand Yerznkyan, heads the Department.

Social Sciences and Languages Department

With the aim of preparation of many-sided specialists, these two Departments supplement the musical education of the Conservatory students with basic knowledge of subjects taught at the higher education institutions in the field of culture. These subjects are: philosophy, aesthetics, economics, history of Armenia, culturology and music management. Those male students who are citizens of Armenia, study also military science.

The YSC students can choose for their study 2 of the following foreign languages: Russian, English, French, German and Italian. For singers, the Italian is obligatory (whether as one of two foreign languages or as an extra-language); for those foreign students who don't possess Armenian, the latter is one of two obligatory languages.