Double First Prize at the Khachaturian Competition

Established on June 6, 2003 to mark the 100th anniversary of the legendary Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, the widely celebrated Khachaturian International Competition reveals young talents in the categories of cello, piano, violin and conducting.
This year, approximately 200 conductors applied to participate in the Khachaturian International Competition. The competition, dedicated to the great Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, traditionally begins on his birthday, June 6. This year, it was held in the "Conducting" category. The mission of the competition is to discover talented young musicians, provide them with opportunities for career advancement, and promote Khachaturian’s musical legacy worldwide.

The applicants represented 42 countries, including China, South Korea, Russia, Japan, the USA, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Venezuela, Greece, Israel, Singapore, Australia, Ukraine, Armenia, and more.
An interesting aspect of this year's competition was the gender balance among the applicants: approximately 70% were male, while around 30% were female.

Just like the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam, which happened almost at the same time, the Khachaturian Competition finished with a double First Prize: Fernando Gaggini and Leonard Weiss shared the top place. 
The other four finalists included Shun Oi, Keuntae Park, Jaehyuck Choi, and Otis Kinta Enokido-Lineham. 
They were selected from a pool of 18 candidates, who all worked with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra led by the competition’s artistic director and principal conductor Sergey Smbatyan.