Sergey Smbatyan, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, will lead the opening concert of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024-25 season.

Under the baton of Maestro Smbatyan, the concert will feature Jean Sibelius' iconic Violin Concerto delivered by violin virtuoso Sergey Khachatryan, along with Symphony No. 2 Johannes Brahms, often referred to as the “Pastoral” symphony.

Held at the Neptun’s Courtyard within the historic Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, the concert marks a new stage in the shared artistic journey of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and Sergey Smbatyan.

SERGEY SMBATYAN

Sergey Smbatyan is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. A passionate popularizer of classical music, the conductor has extensive international engagement, while championing rejuvenation of classical music audiences and promoting contemporary classical music worldwide.

Sergey Smbatyan serves as Artistic Director of a number of annual music festivals, as well as the Khachaturyan International Competition. He has initiated a variety of educational and cultural programs which are implemented by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra with the aim of fostering cultural development among the younger generation. Тhe Music for Future Foundation (M4FF), established by Sergey Smbatyan, has been supporting the professional advancement of young musicians since 2019.

In recent concert seasons, he has performed as a guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic  Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic  Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic  Orchestra of Bratislava, among others. In the 2022-2023 concert season, Sergey Smbatyan toured the United Kingdom with the Romanian National Philharmonic Orchestra. He led the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra on a UK tour dedicated to Aram Khachatryan's 120th anniversary in 2023, and on the first United States tour of the orchestra in 2024.

Sergey Smbatyan was appointed as a UNICEF National Ambassador in 2023.