Take Me To Our Gandza

Edgar Hovhannisyan was born in Yerevan. He studied composition at Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and graduated in 1953 under the tuition of Grigor Yeghiazaryan. In 1957 he completed his post-graduate course at Moscow Conservatory led by Aram Khachaturian. From 1962 to 1968 he was the director of the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Alexander Spendiaryan, from 1956 to 1973 he was the Deputy Chairman of the Composers Union of Armenia and in 1974 he became a member of the Board of the Composers Union of USSR. From 1979 to 1984 he was the Artistic Director of the Armenian Television and Radio Choir and from 1986 to 1991 he was the rector for Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (a professor from1986). Between 1963 and 1971 he was a Member of the Supreme Council of Armenia and from 1989 to 1991 was a People's Deputy of the USSR. In 1984 he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor. In 1962 he received the title of Honored Worker of Art. He was awarded the titles of People’s Artist of Armenia and People’s Artist of the USSR in 1972 and 1986 respectively. He died in Yerevan.