Plaque honoring Maestro Hovhannes Chekijian unveiled in Yerevan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the official unveiling ceremony of a plaque dedicated to renowned conductor, National Hero of Armenia, and laureate of USSR and Armenian SSR state prizes, Hovhannes Chekijian. The ceremony took place at the building of the Armenian National Academic Choir at 60 Pushkin Street.

By a decision of the Armenian government, the Armenian National Academic Choir has been officially named after Maestro Hovhannes Chekijian, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to Armenian musical culture.

Prior to the unveiling ceremony, Maestro Chekijian held a rehearsal with the choir.

Addressing the event, Prime Minister Pashinyan expressed his deep gratitude to the maestro and the choir for their longstanding artistic achievements.

“Dear Mr. Chekijian, dear Maestro, I bow before you and your work. We often speak about values and a value-based society, and it is undeniable that the value you have created is among the most memorable and significant achievements of our past century,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Chekijian’s contribution has rightfully been recognized by the state through the awarding of the title of National Hero of Armenia. He also noted the importance of making such cultural achievements more accessible to the wider public.

Reflecting on the relationship between culture and human well-being, Pashinyan underlined that access to culture is an essential component of prosperity.

“We speak about well-being, but what is well-being? I cannot imagine well-being without access to culture. Access to water and food is not well-being — it is survival. In my understanding, true well-being includes access to culture. One of the biggest indicators of poverty in Armenia is that people do not have sufficient access to cultural life,” he stated, expressing hope that government policies will help address this issue.

The Armenian National Academic Choir was founded in 1937 as a 25–30 member ensemble within the Armenian Philharmonic. Since 1961, it has been led by Maestro Hovhannes Chekijian as artistic director and chief conductor.

The choir was awarded “Academic” status in 1969 and recognized as an Honored Collective of the republic in 1975. On November 15, 2012, it was granted “National” status by the government.

Under Chekijian’s leadership, the choir has performed at 184 of the world’s leading concert venues, including in Paris, London, New York, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. It has given 866 performances abroad and collaborated with 69 internationally renowned symphony orchestras, among them the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra, and the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra.