Student of “Hayordats Tun” Armenian School of Moscow, pianist Sona Sahakyan, 12, won second place at the Одаренные дети Подмосковья music competition.

Sona moved to Moscow in 2014. Until then, she had studied at the Tchaikovsky Music School adjunct to Yerevan State Conservatory for six years and is currently in her seventh, final year at the music school in Odentsovo city near Moscow.

“I performed three songs during the competition, including Grieg’s “Минувшие дни”, Debus’ “Арабеска № 2” and Khachaturian’s “Сонатина”. Overall, there were 60 musicians participating in the competition, but only 30 made it to the final round. After the first round, I thought I wouldn’t make it to the second one. Before the third round, my parents told me that I didn’t need to worry if I didn’t make it to the third round. At the end, it was announced that I was one of the seven musicians that made it to the final round, of which only three received the cup,” Sona Sahakyan said in an interview.

Sona’s mother, Arusyak Papikyan, is also a pianist and teaches at “Hayordats Tun” Armenian School. In an interview, she mentioned that only citizens of the Russian Federation can study for free at music schools near Moscow. Although Sona is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, the music school director listened to Sona play and provided her with the opportunity to continue her education at the music school without thinking twice. Before sending her to the competition, the music school director mentioned that his school’s only representative wouldn’t return empty-handed.

When asked how she felt while she was participating in the competition and how everything went, Sona Sahakyan said: “I was the fourth performer in the final round. When I turned my head around, I saw the other participants standing backstage and listening attentively to my performance. Later, I was told that their teachers had listened to me play before and had said that I was a contender and that that’s why everyone was listening attentively. Besides, the president of the jury also applauded during my performance and gave me a nod of approval, after which I understood that everyone had liked my performance.”

After the performance, Sona mentioned that she was dedicated her victory to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The gala concert and award ceremony will be held in May. Let us mention that this was not the first time that Sona Sahakyan was participating in a big competition. She has participated in the Arno Babajanyan International Music Festival and has won third place. She has also received a special award at the “Veratsnund” (Renaissance) International Music Competition.

Armine Kareyan

Moscow