Conductor, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia

Sergey Smbatyan was born on September 23, 1987, in Yerevan, into a family of musicians. He received his education at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Later, he earned a PhD in Art Studies at the Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Since 2006, Sergey Smbatyan has served as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, which he founded at the age of 18, still a student. Under his leadership, the orchestra has grown from a youth ensemble into a full-scale professional orchestra, now considered as one of the best in Armenia. In September 2019, he also became the Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

Sergey Smbatyan is known for his contributions to Armenia’s cultural life as the founder of 4 major festivals. He also established the conducting category at the Khachaturian International Competition.

Over the course of the recent years, Smbatyan has initiated various orchestral ensembles, such as the “24/04” Orchestra, commemorating the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the “Generation of Independence” Orchestra and Choir, the UNICEF Children’s Chamber Choir, and the All Armenian Orchestra, aimed at uniting Armenians worldwide. Additionally, he founded the “DasA” Project, a high school program giving students a chance to learn classical music.

Among Smbatyan's achievements are the title of Honored Artist of Armenia and the First Prize at the international "Berlin Debut" concert competition held at the Berlin Philharmonic. In 2014, he became the youngest figure in the arts and the first Armenian to be awarded the title of "Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters" by the French Minister of Culture and Communications. Sergey Smbatyan is a UNICEF National Ambassador. He was also the principal guest conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra for the 2024–2025 concert season.

Since 2024, he has been a member of the Board of the Armenian National Music Academy.