Garo Zakarian
Garo Hovannesi Zakarian (Armenian: Կարո Հովհաննեսի Զաքարյան; 15 December 1895, Van, Ottoman Empire – 11 May 1967, Yerevan, Armenian SSR) was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. He was named People's Artist of Armenia in 1960.
He studied music theory at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1916 to 1918. From 1921 to 1929 he was choirmaster and a teacher at the House of Armenian Arts in Tbilisi, and he graduated from the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1924.
In 1929 he moved to Yerevan, where he taught choral conducting at the Yerevan State Conservatory. From 1938 to 1953 he led the Yerevan Radio Chorus, and from 1949 he was a member of the Communist Party.
Zakarian’s music drew on Armenian folk songs, and he is known for his choral arrangements of these songs. His works include the Pioneer Ballet (1937), the Coral opera (1939, first staged 1941), and the opera A (1954).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:14 (CET).