Garbis Aprikian was a musician from the Armenian diaspora who was born in Egypt and moved to Paris in 1953, where he studied, inspired especially by Olivier Messiaen. He conducted the Armenian mixed chorus Sipan-Komitas for around 50 years, composing many works especially for the group and also arranging Armenian folk music and works of others. He combined melodies from Armenia with Western musical techniques such as harmonies and counterpoint. Aprikian is regarded as a pioneer of bringing Armenian music to France.