by The Armenian Weekly
Maestro Konstantin Petrossian, longtime cultural and music director of Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church in Providence, RI, was conferred with the title “Honored Artist of Armenia,” the country’s highest commendation for artists.
The title and its associated medal, bestowed annually on Armenian Independence Day in September, were conferred via special proclamation of the President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan in recognition for Maestro Petrossian’s lifetime achievement as a musician, composer and conductor of choral and instrumental ensembles.
As one of three initiates for 2022, including Narine Zarifyan of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan and Garegin Evangulyan of the Gabriel Sundukyan State Academic Theatre, Petrossian joins a select group of national artists honored in this way.
Petrossian has served Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church since 1995 and currently is leader of its Cultural Committee and president of the Armenian Music Festival of Rhode Island. He is also director-conductor of the Erevan Choral Society and Orchestra of Cambridge, MA, the Armenian Chorale of Rhode Island and the Armenian Chorale of Greater Worcester.
A well-known composer whose works have been performed, recorded and published worldwide, Petrossian is a graduate of the Romanos Melikyan Music College, as well as the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan with a master’s degree in composition and musicology. Petrossian’s affiliations are notable, including the Armenian Union of Composers; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); American Music Center and Armenian Musical Assembly. Over the last three decades, Petrossian has organized and given hundreds of cultural and educational events and performances around the world, including a special concert of Armenian sacred music at the United Nations in New York City in April 2006 and performances at Carnegie Hall in the 1990s.
Previously, Petrossian was awarded the “Movses Khorenatsi Medal” in 2013 by the President of Armenia in 2013, the country’s highest cultural award. Additionally, in June 2014, he received the prestigious Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Medal in recognition of distinguished achievement in service to the church and Armenian culture, which was accompanied by an encyclical from Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II.
