Hovsepians to Perform Dec. 8 in North Andover

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.—Like mother, like son.

DSC_0149e — Mother-son duo of Ani and Haig Hovsepian

It’s not a combination you often see, unless it comes to music and you’re talking about Ani and Haig Hovsepian.

The two will highlight a 117th anniversary celebration of the Lowell ARF Committee on Sat., Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. with a combined program at St. Gregory Armenian Church, on 158 Main St.

The Hovsepians are known for their musical virtuoso throughout the Greater Boston community. This will mark their first public appearance in North Andover, where they have strong family ties.

Those attending last April’s genocide commemoration at the Statehouse in Boston would have seen young Haig dazzle an unsuspecting audience with his violin talent.

His mom accompanies him on piano while dad Jirair takes care of the photography. “We’re very proud of how far Haig has come on his instrument,” his parents say. “He enjoys performing before crowds and looks to continue his music on a higher level.”

At 13, this young teen has already built up quite the resume. Currently an 8^th-grader at Cherry Middle School in Belmont, Haig started his violin studies at age 4. In 2009, he received his first award at the Statewide Music Teachers Association competition.

The year 2010 turned into an extravaganza for the child. On April 24, Armenian Martyrs’ Day, he won a gold medal at the Classified Music Competition in Canada. Two months later, Haig won the Young Promise International Competition.

In spite of his young age, Haig has performed extensively at various community and charity events, churches, and nursing homes. He appeared as a soloist with the Belmont All-Town Elementary Chorus and on Belmont and Needham television programs featuring talented young musicians.

He also participated in the Belmont Telethon to help raise funds for the town’s food pantry, and in a production benefiting the Joslin Diabetes Center.

Haig is a former member of the Abaka Dance Ensemble and St. Stephen’s Armenian Saturday School, and a first prize-winner in the Armenian Relief Society’s (ARS) annual essay contest.

He also plays the sh’vi (Armenian recorder), saxophone, and piano.

Ani Hovsepian studied music at the Komitas Conservatory in Armenia; the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia; and at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. She holds separate graduate degrees in performance, education, music history, and art criticism.

Throughout her burgeoning career, Ani appeared in piano and ensemble performances with various soloists and groups in Armenia, the former Soviet Union, and the United States, including the Komitas Choral Society of Greater Boston and Cantata Singers.

Prior to emigrating here in 1991, she taught at the Yerevan State Conservatory, conducted research on Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness, and worked as a freelance correspondent for newspapers in Armenia, reporting on musical events around the country.

She is currently employed at Brandeis University and runs a private music studio, ACH, in Belmont.

The Dec. 8 concert will be preceded by dinner and a brief program, updating guests on a genocide memorial currently in progress for the City of Lowell.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, and will be available at the door.

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Tom Vartabedian

Tom Vartabedian is a retired journalist with the Haverhill Gazette, where he spent 40 years as an award-winning writer and photographer. He has volunteered his services for the past 46 years as a columnist and correspondent with the Armenian Weekly, where his pet project was the publication of a special issue of the AYF Olympics each September.