2026 Khachaturian Elite Training Program Opens for Applications

The Khachaturian International Competition is one of the world's leading classical music events. Founded in memory of the great twentieth-century composer Aram Khachaturian, it is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) and is recognized internationally for its artistic standards and professional authority. In 2026, the Khachaturian International Music Competition and Music Week will be officially launched with a comprehensive upgrade and global attention.

On January 26, the press conference for the 2nd Khachaturian International Youth Competition was held at the Central Opera House in Beijing. The event marked a renewed development of this world-class music brand in China and created a higher-level international artistic platform for young musicians around the world.

Looking back to 2025, the concert of the 2nd Khachaturian Elite Training Program concluded successfully at the Central Opera House on December 28. The concert presented the young performers' artistic growth and technical progress, offering them a professional stage and bringing the annual training program to a brilliant close. Since the first program was successfully held in Beijing in 2024, the Khachaturian International Elite Training Program has gained strong recognition from experts, audiences and young applicants worldwide.

The program follows the principle that the stage itself is a classroom. It once again joins hands with the internationally renowned conductor Sergey Smbatyan and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, offering students the rare opportunity to perform with world-class artistic forces. Through practical performance experience, young artists refine their technique, deepen their musical thinking and develop confidence on stage.

The 2026 program will further deepen cultural and artistic exchange between China and Armenia. With music as a bridge, it will promote cultural dialogue, mutual learning and the inheritance and development of classical music across borders.

Part 1: World-Class Resources for Young Musicians

Building on the achievements of the previous editions, the 2026 Khachaturian Elite Training Program opens a new chapter. Based on rigorous training and an international stage, it is dedicated to discovering and shaping young musicians with both talent and passion. The program will select 24 elite students worldwide and provide higher-level resources, systematic training and authoritative artistic guidance.

The program will present three dedicated training concerts. From rehearsal and coaching to full stage performance, the process will allow young artists to witness and complete their transformation from excellence toward distinction. With passion, discipline and global vision, the program invites young musical talents from around the world to join this artistic journey in 2026.

Part 2: Eligibility

1. Applicants should be in good health and physically able to perform normally.
2. Applicants should have professional-level performance ability. All instruments are welcome, and applicants should have strong musical foundations and a genuine passion for music.
3. The program is open to instrumental performers, including but not limited to strings, winds and piano, as well as vocal music students.

Part 3: Performance Time and Venue

The Central Opera House is a national art institution directly under China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Founded in 1952, it brings together outstanding singers, instrumentalists, composers, conductors, directors, playwrights and stage artists through its opera troupe, chorus, symphony orchestra and stage design center. Since opening in 2022, the Central Opera House Theater has become a cultural landmark in Beijing, serving as a stage for the public, a home for refined art and a window for cultural exchange between China and the world.

Over more than seven decades, the Central Opera House has created and performed many outstanding productions and has received more than 100 national awards. It has undertaken major national and international performance missions and has presented world classics such as La Traviata, Turandot, Carmen, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Eugene Onegin and La Boheme, as well as major original Chinese operas and dance dramas.

Part 4: Application and Contact

1. Please contact the official organizing committee or submit materials by email, including a resume with study experience and awards, plus a performance video of a self-selected work that clearly demonstrates personal ability.
2. The organizing committee will conduct preliminary review based on the submitted materials and notify selected applicants.
3. After admission, selected students will be informed about payment and further arrangements.

Website: http://www.khachaturiancompetition-cn.com/
Email: info@khachaturiancompetition-cn.com
Telephone: 010-68802975

Part 5: Conductor and Performing Ensemble

Conductor: Sergey Smbatyan

Sergey Smbatyan is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. A passionate advocate for classical music, he is internationally active and committed to engaging new audiences while promoting contemporary classical music around the world.

Born into a musical family, Smbatyan began his musical training with his grandmother Tatyana Hayrapetyan, an outstanding violin teacher, and later studied at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He continued his conducting studies with Yuri Davtyan and founded the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra at the age of 18, serving ever since as its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.

His career highlights include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra at Windsor Castle and later with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Buckingham Palace. Under his leadership, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra has appeared at major venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Barbican Centre in London, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Munich Philharmonie, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Musikverein in Vienna and the Berliner Philharmonie.

Smbatyan has collaborated with leading composers including Krzysztof Penderecki, Tigran Mansurian, Arvo Part and Giya Kancheli. He has also led interdisciplinary projects with John Malkovich in Latin America and Asia. He has founded and initiated numerous festivals and educational platforms, including projects that support young musicians, children's chamber music and pan-Armenian orchestral collaboration.

Beyond concert performance, Smbatyan places great emphasis on social responsibility and youth cultural development. He is the founder of the Music for Future Foundation, which discovers talented young musicians and supports their professional growth. He has also explored the relationship between classical music and technology, including a project at WCIT 2019 in which an international orchestra performed music created in real time by artificial intelligence.

Smbatyan holds the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia and the French Order of Arts and Letters. In 2023, he was appointed UNICEF National Ambassador.

Armenian State Symphony Orchestra

The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra is one of Armenia's most influential national orchestras. Founded in 2005 by Sergey Smbatyan, originally as the Armenian State Youth Symphony Orchestra, it was renamed the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra in 2018 and has grown into a flagship ensemble of Armenian classical music.

The orchestra performs more than 50 concerts each year in Armenia and internationally, with appearances at major venues including the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Musikverein in Vienna and Carnegie Hall in New York. Its repertoire ranges from symphonic works, ballet and opera music to symphonic adaptations of popular and film music, as well as jazz-influenced interpretations of classical repertoire.

The orchestra is known for its refined orchestral technique and expressive interpretation, and it has taken part in major international festivals. It is also deeply involved in education, youth outreach and social engagement, helping to bring classical music to younger audiences and wider communities.

Original Chinese title: 【音聚全球菁英，赴三场交响之约】2026哈恰图良精英培养计划招募启动
Original link: https://www.khachaturiancompetition-cn.com/?p=202&a=view&r=228