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The grand opening of the 8th “Return” Classical Music Festival took place in the Aram Khachatryan Concert Hall.

This year’s festival is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The festival was organized under the auspices of the First Lady of the Republic of Armenia Rita Sargsyan by the “Gallery of Arts” Foundation (president Mariam Shahinyan, director Garik Nazaryan), with support of the RA Ministry of Culture. The General Partner of the festival is VivaCell-MTS. In total, from 2007 to 2015 VivaCell-MTS has allocated AMD 99.300.000 for organizing the annual event.

After a one-year pause the concert halls in Yerevan will open their doors for talented musicians of Armenian descent and their foreign colleagues. The festival program features five concerts with first night performances and new musical bands. In the frames of the festival the “Return” quintet of musicians representing different countries and nationalities will be introduced to the Armenian audience, according to the press service of VivaCell-MTS.

“The musicians of Armenian descent which have arrived for participating in the festival regularly appear on the best stages of the world and are widely recognized in the sphere of classical music. They prove once again that we, Armenians, are creative, gifted, brilliant people no matter what shores destiny takes us to. The “Return” festival has an important role in bringing together talented Armenian musicians scattered around the world. I am glad that VivaCell-MTS, standing by the side of the organizers, has a contribution in the shaping, success and progress of the festival, supporting it for already eight years,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said.

Every year, since 2007, the autumn concert season of the festival brings together our compatriots which have left Armenia to study, work and hone their professional skills abroad, and now live and work in the biggest musical centers of the world. These talented musicians of Armenian descent get an opportunity to keep the bond with the homeland, as well as present the latest achievements of their performing mastery to the Armenian audience.

In the course of eight years the festival has featured such renowned musicians as Sergey Kachatryan (violin, Germany), Suren Bagratuni (cello, USA), Vahan Martirosyan (piano, France), Vahagn Papyan (piano, Israel), Vardan Mamikonyan (piano, France), Levon Muradyan (cello, Portugal), Varduhi Khachatryan (mezzo-soprano, Switzerland), Juliet Galstyan (mezzo-soprano, Switzerland), and others.

The founders of the festival are Mariam Shahinyan and Garik Nazaryan.