Hambarsoom Grigorian

Who was Hambarsoom Grigorian?

Hambarsoom Grigorian was a composer and the founder and director of the “Komitas” choir. He was born in 1893 in Tabriz, Iran. After graduating school in 1913, he was invited to teach at the Ghazvin Armenian School.

During World War I, he dedicated himself to help people. After the war, he moved to Salmas and Oroomieh and assisted survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In 1923, he and a group of young Armenians were invited to Prague’s National University where he became interested in the Rimsky Korsakov School and continued his education there. After six months, he moved to Paris, France where from 1924–1927, he was taught under Venesandi at the Schola Cantorum. He also attended Sorbonne University where he graduated with a degree in child development and psychology.

In 1927, he moved to Rasht and taught in an Armenian school. Later, he moved to Tehran and continued his dedication to school and people. He was one of the founders of the Alik Daily Newspaper, in Tehran, which continues its daily publications till today.

He established the Komitas choir in 1928, where without interruption it actively dedicated itself to Armenian culture in Iranian cities. The choir selected “Hayrenyaz Sirov” as the song that represented it.