Nikoghos Tahmizian

Born in Athens, Greece on May 9, 1926. Received elementary education at the local Armenian school, followed by high school at the Melkonian Educational Institute in Cyprus on a merit based scholarship. After graduation in 1945, being recognized as a promising young musical scholar, he received a fully funded fellowship for a seven-year academic course at the Music Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium.

The "Repatriation Movement", however, initiated by the government of post-war Armenia, changed his plans. Along with over one hundred thousand Armenians (scattered around the globe as a direct result of the 1915 Genocide) he moved to Soviet Armenia in 1946. In September of that year, he was admitted and started his education at the Romanos Melikian Musical College of Yerevan – graduating in 1950. From 1950 to 1956 he attended the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, Musicology Department. He completed his graduate studies with a thesis on 13th century Armenian monk Hovhannes Yerznkatzi's views on music theory. From 1947 to 1956 Tahmizian worked at the Yerevan Opera House occupying the chair of third French Horn in the orchestra.

From 1956 to 1960 he completed his post-graduate studies at St. Petersburg State Conservatory under the mentorship of renowned music scholar Christopher Kushnarev. It was here that he met his lifetime soul mate Svetalan Nikitina (later Svetlana Tahmizian) – a talented musician studying with the famous pianist and organist Professor Braudo (Браудо, Исайя Александрович). From 1960 to 1990 he was a senior researcher at Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) in Yerevan, Armenia. During the same period he actively collaborated with the Composers' Union of Armenia, Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory and the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. Tahmizian upheld his dissertation for doctoral candidacy in 1962 on the history of Armenian music from 5th to 8th centuries A.D. In 1980 he obtained an honorary doctorate degree presenting the publication of his monumental work "Theory of Music in Ancient Armenia."

In 1984 he was awarded an honorary title for his accomplishments in musical arts by the government of Armenia. In 1987 he was granted professorship of musical sciences by the music history department of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.

From 1990 to 2011 he resided in Pasadena, California. He was honored to become a US citizen in 1995. During this time he continued his research and involvement in Armenian music history. He published five books and a dozen articles. He also lectured in various US cities.

Chief Editor of Drazark Publishing and Conductor Vatche Barsumian
Conductor Ohan Durian
Nikoghos Tahmizian

Mrs. Svetlana Tahmizian
Nikoghos Tahmizian
Composer Tigran Mansurian

• Tamburist Harutin, 18th Century, A Manual of Eastern Music (translation from Armenian-lettered Turkish into Russian, foreword and commentaries by N. Tahmizian), Yerevan, 1968, with a summary in English.
• Nerses Shnorhali (Nerses IV the Gracious 12th Century), Composer and Musician, Yerevan, 1973, in Armenian with a summary in French.
• The Theory of Music in Ancient Armenia (until the 10th Century), Yerevan, 1977, in Russian with a summary in English.
• Makar Yekmalian (Makar Yekmalian, 19th Century), Life and Works, Yerevan, 1981, in Armenian.
• Music in Ancient and Medieval Armenia (a brochure in three languages – Armenian, Russian, English), Yerevan, 1982.
• Voskeporik – Pearls of Armenian Art Song (Anthology Reflecting the Unity of Armenian Poetry and Music from 5th to 20th Centuries), Compiled and Edited by N. Tahmizian, Yerevan, 1982, foreword in Armenian, Russian and English.
• Grigor Narekatsi (Gregory of Narek, 10th Century) and Armenian Music from 5th to 15th Centuries, Yerevan, 1985, in Armenian with a summary in English.
• Music in Armenian Cilicia (1080 to 1375 A.D.), Lecturer's Manual, Yerevan, 1989, in Armenian.
• Hakobos Aivazian (19th to 20th Centuries) – A Manual of Eastern Music, translation from Western Armenian into Russian, foreword and commentaries by N. Tahmizian, Yerevan, 1989, with an English summary. ISBN 5-8080-0110-2
• Voskeporik – Pearls of Armenian Art Song – Revised and Extended Version, Drazark Press, Pasadena, CA, 1994.
• Komitas (Komitas Vardapet and the Musical Legacy of the Armenian People, in Armenian, Drazark Press, Pasadena, CA, 1994.
• Sayat-Nova and the Armenian Minstrel Tradition, in Armenian, Drazark Press, Pasadena, CA, 1995.
• Tigran Chukhajian – Life and Work, in Armenian, Drazark Press, Pasadena, CA, 1999.
• Modern Neumology, in Armenian, Drazark Press, Pasadena, CA, 2003

• A Page from Early Medieval Armenian Musical Theory, (in Armenian), Banber Matenadarani publication, Yerevan, 1960 v. 5.
• Pages from the Early Medieval Armenian Musical Aesthetics, (in Armenian), Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, 1961, v. 2.
• The Study of Sound in Ancient and Medieval Armenia, (in Armenian), Banber Matenadarani publication, Yerevan, 1962, v. 6.
• On the Melodies of Sayat-Nova's Armenian Language Songs, (in Armenian), Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, 1963, v. 10.
• Pages from the Medieval Armenian Musical Aesthetics, (in Armenian), Etchmiadzin publication, Armenia, 1963, v. 11.
• Mesrop Mashtots and the Art of Armenian Sacred Music, (in Armenian), Banber Matenadarani publication, Yerevan, 1964, v. 7.
• An Analytical Survey of the Ancient and Medieval History of Armenian Music until 19th Century, Lraber Journal of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan, 1970 v. 10, 1971 vv 1, 5, 9, in Armenian.
• Monodische Denkmaler Alt – Armeniens. Die Tradition Der Armenischen Psalmodie, Beitrage Zur Musikwissenschaft Publishing, Berlin, 1970, v. 1 (German).
• Les Anciens Manuscrits Musicaux Armeniens et Les Questions Relatives a Leur Dechiffrement, Revue des Études Arméniennes journal, 1970, v. 7 (French).
• Mutual Links between Armenian and Byzantine Music in the Early Middle Ages (in Polish), Muzyka Journal, Poland, 1977, v. 1.
• Position and Significance of Music in the System of Professional Arts in Medieval Armenia (5th to 15th Centuries, (in English), a publication of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan, 1978.
• David the Invincible (David Anhaght) and the Armenian Musical Culture, (in English), a publication of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan, 1980.
• The Monumental-Decorative Style in the Armenian Professional Music of the 10th to 15th Centuries, (in French), a publication of Terzo Simposio Internazionale Di Arte Armena, Venezia, 1981.
• On the Unity of the Poetic Text and Music in the Armenian Hymnal, (in French), Revue des Études Arméniennes journal, 1983, Paris, v. 17.

• Honorary Doctorate in Musicology, 1980, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, USSR
• Accomplished Fellow of Arts, Academy of Sciences of Armenia, 1984, Yerevan, Armenia
• Honorary Professor, Komitas State Conservatory of Armenia, 1987, Yerevan, Armenia

• Christopher Kushnarev
• Isaia Braudo