Hasmik Ter-Simonyan

(1926-2007)

Professor of the Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas

Hasmik (Mignona) Ter-Simonyan was born on April 13, 1926, in the capital of North Ossetia–Alania, Vladikavkaz. That same year her family moved to Yerevan. Her father, Yervand Ter-Simonyan, graduated from the Nersisian School in Tbilisi, where he sang in the choir organized by Spiridon Melikyan and participated in performances at the Georgian National Opera Theater. In Yerevan, he graduated from the university, choosing to specialize in law (1st graduation). Then he became interested in teaching and devoted his whole life to working at school. He was awarded the title of Honored Teacher and the Order of Lenin. Her mother, Nvard Simonyan, graduated from high school and taught Russian language and literature at the Yerevan secondary school after Vladimir Mayakovsky.

Simultaneously with her studies at the Secondary School after Nadezhda Krupskaya, Hasmik studied at the Yerevan Specialized Music School named after Alexander Spendiaryan. In 1943, after graduating from high school, she entered the Music College after Romanos Melikian to the Piano Department in the class of Olga Babasyan, who had worked with several generations of musicians in Armenia.

The years of her study at the Yerevan State Conservatory (1947-1952) were interesting. She was studying intensely in the special piano class of the famous professor Kathy Malkhasyan. She received her accompanist training in the class of Grigory Dombaev, and her chamber ensemble teacher was Karen Kostanyan.

Before entering the conservatory, Hasmik began her career as an accompanist at the Yerevan Theater Institute (1946-1949), and for many years worked as an accompanist in the class of Professor Tamara Shakhnazaryan (1949-1972) — a great teacher of vocal art, who gave a start to the professional life of many subsequently famous singers. Over the years, Ter-Simonyan, as an accompanist, participated in the Third and Fourth Transcaucasian Competitions (with vocalists) and was twice awarded Honorary Diplomas.

Hasmik Ter-Simonyan was an active participant in the «Armconcert». These were numerous concerts with soloists-vocalists in the cities and villages of Armenia and the republics of the former USSR, in particular in Russia, Belarus, and Tajikistan. With the singer Gayane Hovhannisyan, Ter-Simonyan participated in the Decade of Armenian Art in Poland (1988).

It should be noted that throughout her accompanist career, Hasmik Ter-Simonyan worked primarily with vocalists.

Let’s highlight 1989, when in US cities (Washington, Los Angeles, San Diego), Ter-Simonyan, together with famous singers Gegham Grigoryan and Hasmik Papian, participated in charity concerts, the proceeds from which were sent to the fund to help victims of the 1988 Spitak earthquake (also known as the 1988 Armenian earthquake).

For more than thirty years, Hasmik Ter-Simonyan’s accompanist activity has been associated with the State Television and Radio of Armenia.

With Valery Harutyunyan, Svetlana Kolosaryan, Nonna Melkumova, Hasmik Ter-Simonyan performed vocal cycles by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Dmitri Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov (poems by prominent Armenian lyric poet Avetik Isahakyan), Mikael Tariverdiev (prominent Soviet composer of Armenian descent) (poems by Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva — the premiere took place for the first time in Yerevan), and Rodion Shchedrin.

Hasmik Ter-Simonyan was a constant participant in concerts and plenums of the Union of Composers of Armenia, and concert programs of the Children’s Philharmonic in Yerevan.

She accompanied the masters of art of Armenia in Moscow, in particular, in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (at concerts for the 50th and 60th anniversary of the October Revolution), in the House of Friendship (Days of Latin American Culture), in the Central House of Artists (Days of Armenian Culture). She was a participant in the selections for the World Youth Festivals in Helsinki and Berlin and the Soviet Song Festival in Minsk. Hasmik Ter-Simonyan participated in the All-Union Glinka Vocal Competitions, which were held in Kyiv (1968), Vilnius (1971), and Tallinn (1979).

In 1961, she began to combine her work as an accompanist at the Yerevan State Conservatory with teaching at the Music College after Romanos Melikian (class of artistic accompaniment).

Since 1969, Hasmik Ter-Simonyan began teaching at the Yerevan State Conservatory, first at the General Piano Department, and since 1970, at the Accompanist Training Department. In 1988, she was awarded the title of Associate Professor, and in 1996 — Professor.

Graduates of her accompanist class work in various departments of the conservatory and other music schools in Armenia.

Professor Hasmik Ter-Simonyan was awarded a Certificate of Honor from the Ministry of Culture of Tajikistan, certificates for active participation in cultural patronage from the command of the Armed Forces of the USSR, from the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and other Gratitudes.

Hasmik Ter-Simonyan and her husband, People’s Artist of Armenia, conductor Hakob Voskanyan had two sons: Paruyr (engineer) and Konstantin (cardiologist, died in 2014), who loved art in all its forms and had deep knowledge of Armenian music and art.

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