The NCOA has appeared on tour with remarkable praise in the
United States,
Canada,
United Kingdom,
Germany,
France,
Switzerland,
Greece,
Russia,
Georgia,
Cyprus,
Lebanon, and the
United Arab Emirates. Gharabekian also has led the NCOA to notable performances in the Canterbury Festival in England, the Halle Festival in Germany, and the Dimitria Festival in Greece. For their outstanding achievements Aram Gharabekian and NCOA have been duly recognized in a special proclamation by the United States Congress and televised features on
CNN Special and Russian
Kultura TV channel. Under the patronage of the First Ladies of
Germany and
Armenia, Gharabekian and NCOA officially opened the international celebrations honoring
Aram Khachaturian’s 100th anniversary in
Berlin, and have been honored with a special concert at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia in Cyprus. The NCOA is the only performing ensemble in Armenia that is committed to a significant outreach program, Taking Music to the People, which offers free-of-charge performances to the regions of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, every season. During the last decade the NCOA has commissioned and premiered more than 40 new works and encouraged the integration of traditional Armenian musical instruments such as
duduk, zurna, shvi and
kamancha in the works specially written for the orchestra. ==Media releases==