Zmrukhti

Born in Trabzon (Turkey). In 1912 he graduated from the Sanasarian School in Erzurum, where he also learned to play the violin. He continued his studies at the Tiflis Music College, and in Leningrad took lessons from the violinist Hovhannes Nalbandyan. From 1923 he worked as a musician (mainly as a choral conductor) in Rostov-on-Don and taught at the local pedagogical technical college. In 1930 he created the first ethnographic ensemble of the North Caucasus (later the Folk Instruments Ensemble of the Rostov-on-Don Radio Committee). From 1938 he led the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Peoples of the North Caucasus (Kislovodsk). From 1942 he lived in Yerevan and organised numerous professional and amateur musical groups in Yerevan, Leninakan and Kirovakan, among them the song and dance ensemble of the Yerevan House of Culture of the Labour Reserves. In 1964 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Armenia. He died in Yerevan.