Komitas Vardapet (by Western Armenian transliteration also Gomidas Vartabed; Komitas Vartapet, born Soghomon Gevorki Soghomonyan on September 26 or October 8, 1869 in Kütahya, Ottoman Empire – October 22, 1935 in Paris, France) was an Armenian priest, ethnomusicologist, composer, choir leader, singer, and music pedagogue. He is widely regarded as the founder of modern Armenian classical music. Komitas was born into a family whose members were deeply involved in music and were monolingual in Turkish.