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The Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory on Wednesday hosted the awards ceremony of the Golden Seeds Scholarship of Appreciation and Respect honoring famous Lebanese-Armenian opera singer Kevork Hadjian, who was killed on the Artsakh frontline during the 2020 war.

The Golden Seeds Scholarship has been launched by the Armenian Santa Claus charity fund, which awards it to talented students every six months in collaboration with the Komitas Conservatory and Hadjian’s family.

"Kevork Hadjian was a kind and honest man, a great singer. His devotion to his homeland, every inch of it, is clearly visible in his creative work," Gayane Geghamyan, chair of the Komitas State Conservatory Vocal Performance Department, said at the awards ceremony.

She highlighted that the singer performed in numerous countries around the world, representing the rich traditions of the Armenian musical culture. Geghamyan also noted that Kevork Hadjian had a short creative life, but it was full of achievements.

"Glory and honor to him! I would also like to thank Kevork’s family, his wife and son, for organizing this event for our young tuition students. It is a great honor for us to get such assistance, as it also honors an outstanding person," she added

Gayane Geghamyan also thanked Armine Petrosyan, President of the Armenian Santa Claus" charitable foundation, who launched scholarship programs in memory of fallen heroes.

The charitable foundation launched scholarships of appreciation and respect to honor those killed in the 44-day-war with Azerbaijan in 2021.

Kevork Hadjian’s widow, Frida, spoke about her and her husband's journey together, their student years and repatriation to Armenia. "We saw our dream come true, but we didn't know what the future held for us," she said.

Notably, this semester's recipients of the Golden Seeds Scholarship of Appreciation and Respect were Luiza Petrosyan, Tovmas Karapetyan and David Khachatryan.