Prominent pianist Vag Papian will chair the jury of the 15th Aram Khachaturian International Competition. Thirty pianists from 12 countries are set to take part in the competition that is going to make its start on June 6. The participants have already made it to the first round after passing the preliminary selection. The young pianists are going to represent Armenia, US, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Papian notes that the Khachaturian Competition is a significant event in music life. He assures that the jury is going to apply strict criteria in assessing the contestants’ performances.

“We expect to see equipped, international-level musicians. The jury is experienced and excellent”, says Vag Papian adding that as a jury chairman he would like to discover brilliant individuals. He is hopeful that the pianists are going to fight back the fear and give transcendental performances.

Khachaturian International Competition was held for the first time in 2003. The competition starts every year on the birthday of the composer – on June 6 and ends on June 14. It is the only competition in the region to have become a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions and it is aimed at revealing young talents in five specialties – Piano, Violin, Cello, Conducting and Vocal.

The competition is held thanks to joint efforts of the Armenian Ministry of Culture and Aram Khachaturian-Competition Cultural Foundation with the partnership of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS (IFESCCO).