AMAA Benefit Concert to Feature New York Area Musicians

PARAMUS, N.J.—Over 10,000 children in Armenia and Karabagh who attend summer camps organized and sponsored by the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) will once again benefit from the proceeds of a Spring Concert to be presented in New York by the AMAA’s Armenia Summer Camp/Christmas Committee.

AMAA Summer Camps engage underprivileged Armenian youth of impoverished families, who would otherwise be unable to attend summer camps, in physical activity, nourishment, rest, fun, and Christian education. The children enjoy camp and create lasting bonds with their peers and counselors; they often do not want to leave when camp is over.

The Spring Concert, which will feature young Armenian musicians from the New York area, will take place on Sun., May 31 at 20 p.m. at the Armenian Evangelical Church (152 East 34th St. in New York, N.Y.). The program will highlight works by Babadjanian, Haydn, Bach, Gomidas, and others. The AMAA’s Armenia Summer Camp/Christmas Committee has partnered with members of the Armenian Evangelical Church of New York in the planning of this event. A reception to meet the artists will follow the concert in the church hall.

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “representing the young, up-and-coming generation,” cellist Ani Kalayjian has appeared in concert both as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Recent competition successes include winning the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust competition in England, where she was also granted the Bohuslav Martinu Foundation Prize, and performing in Prague in November 2006. Kalayjian completed her master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music. Undergraduate studies were at Mannes College of Music as a student of Timothy Eddy. She was one of two cellists accepted into the inaugural season of David Finckel and Wu Han’s Music@Menlo Festival. She has taken part in the International Musicians Seminar (IMS) at Prussia Cove, Michael Tilson Thomas’ Carnegie Hall workshop, the Pablo Casals Prades Festival, the New York String Seminar, the Holland Music Sessions, and the RNCM International Cello Festival, among others. At IMS Prussia Cove, she was featured in a BBC documentary playing in a masterclass with Steven Isserlis.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Sofya Melikyan began her musical training at the age of five at the Tchaikovsky Specialized Music School of Yerevan. In 1994, Melikyan moved to Spain, where she continued her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. In 2001, she began her post-graduate studies in the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred, where she unanimously received the Diplome Superieure d’Execution in 2003. Currently living in New York, Melikyan recently completed her master of music degree in piano performance at the Manhattan School of Music of New York. She has been awarded with first prize and a prize for Outstanding Music Talent at the Marisa Montiel International Piano Competition in Linares, first prize at the Ibiza International Piano Competition in Spain, and first prize for Music Interpretation by the “Amigos del Colegio de Espana”

Association in Paris. She has toured throughout Spain, Germany, France, Russia, Armenia, Italy, Serbia, and the United States.

Argentinian violinist Sami Merdinian has received worldwide recognition for his outstanding performances as a soloist and chamber musician. Merdinian recently appeared as a soloist with the Montevideo Philharmonic, the Argentinian National Symphony, the Charlemagne Orchestre, the Symphony Pro Musica, the Gagneung Philharmonic in South Korea, and the Philharmonia of the Nations at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As a chamber musician, he has performed in Spoleto, Italy, the Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, the Festival of the Hamptons, Bargemusic, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Concertgebouw, and will be an artist in residency this year at the Aspen Music Festival with the Sybarite Players. Merdinian has been a member of Sejong Soloist since 2008. He has performed throughout the United States and Asia, including a West Coast tour with Gil Shaham, and has recorded for Universal Records. He has been a prize winner in several international competitions, winning gold medals in the XII International Young Solo Instrumentalists Competition in Argentina and the New Talent Competition in Slovakia organized by the European Radio. Merdinian has also received the Rising Star Award by Tiffany & Co., and was named Outstanding Artist of the Year by the Argentinian Press.

Mezzo-soprano Solange Merdinian was born in Argentina. Her performances include opera, oratorio, and recital repertoire, ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. In 2007, she received her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the Juilliard School. Merdinian has appeared as a soloist with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has performed as a soloist in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Merdinian sang the premiere performance of “Pierrot Lunaire” by Shoenberg at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where in May 2009 she received her master’s degree in music and vocal performance from the newly created graduate program by Dawn Upshaw.

This is sure to be a memorable afternoon you will not want to miss.

For more information or to purchase tickets ($20, $10 for students), call Louisa Janbazian (AMAA) at (201) 265-2607, Ida Gueyikian at (732) 946-2730, Elizabeth Aynilian at (201) 444-8122, Rosemarie Ashbahian at (718) 937-5014, or Shakeh Kadehjian (Armenian Evangelical Church in New York) at (212) 685-3177; or email amaa@amaa.org.