Sergey Smbatyan

Acclaimed as a cultural leader in his native Armenia and increasingly in demand on the international stage, Sergey Smbatyan is founder, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. In September 2019 he became Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra following highly successful tours of Germany, Austria and the United States, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein and Carnegie Hall.

Armed with the experience of building a symphony orchestra from scratch, Sergey Smbatyan has created four other orchestras in recent years. In 2015 he founded the 24/04 Orchestra to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and the “Generation of Independence”.

All-Armenian Choir and Orchestra to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

He also founded the UNICEF Children’s Chamber Orchestra, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Pan-Armenian Symphony Orchestra, an initiative intended to unite Armenians around the world. The remit of his work as educator and innovator extends to "DasA", a high school project offering a close-up experience with classical music.

Sergey Smbatyan’s guest conducting career has flourished in recent seasons, leading to concerts with Sinfonia Varsovia, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and, among others, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin. He returned to the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2021/2022 season for a European tour comprising concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie and the Vienna Musikverein and is set to direct the օrchestra’s first UK tour in the 2022/2023 season.