The power of art that units the nations
In 2015 conductor Sergey Smbatyan initiated one more project – the “24/04” World Orchestra.
On April 24, 1915 (24/04/1915), several hundred Armenian intellectuals and representatives of the national elite were arrested and subsequently eliminated by the Ottoman Empire. This was the start of the dark events of the Armenian Genocide… A century later, on April 24, 2015 (24/04/2015), the birth of the “24/04” World Orchestra announced the start of the new era – the Era of Revival.
A unique “24/04” World Orchestra was comprised of 123 musicians from 43 countries. The main mission of the Orchestra was to come up with a call for peace in the whole world: NEVER AGAIN any nation should face the threat of possible massacres and experience the horror of genocide!
The representatives of different generations from different corners of the planet have come around one dominant idea: STOP THE VIOLENCE. The “24/04” World Orchestra was intended to raise the Armenian issue of 1915 through the almighty power of music and prevent the first genocide of the 20th century from remaining unpunished and forgotten and advocating the idea of PEACE for everyone, regardless of ethnic or religious background.
The geography of the peace ambassadors is rather impressive: Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Tunisia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan.
The first performance of the Orchestra took place on April 24, 2016, in Yerevan within the framework of the concert entitled “The Revival”. The laureates of many international competitions as violinist Sergey Khachatryan and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, opera baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the world-famous soprano Maria Guleghina, and many others performed as soloists. Together with Sergey Smbatyan, the concert was directed by famous conductors Gianluca Marciano, Michail Jurowski, and Ohannes Tchekidjian.