Armenian Cultural Foundation salutes Armenian women composers
ARLINGTON, Mass.—Known for their strength, resilience and dedication to family and community throughout history, Armenian women have often played a crucial role in preserving their culture. They have also made significant contributions in various fields, including politics, activism and the arts.
In world music, the millennia-old Armenian history records the legacy of two Armenian women musicians: Sahakdukht and Khosrovidukht, who lived in the 8th century. Hymnographers, poets and pedagogues, they have left a treasury of ecclesiastical poems, as well as liturgical chants.
In tribute to Armenian woman composers, on Sunday, April 13 at 5 pm, the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF), in cooperation with Amaras Art Alliance, Armenian Women’s International Association (AIWA) and the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) New England District will present a piano recital by internationally renowned pianist Şahan Arzruni at the Robbins Memorial Town Hall in Arlington.
The program will include a wide range of compositional styles by world-renowned Armenian women composers from Armenia and the Diaspora, including Lucaper (Lucy) Hazarabedian (1863-1855), arguably the first Armenian woman composer to write for piano in modern times and Koharik Gazarossian (1907–1967), from Scutari and Constantinople in Turkey, respectively; Gayane Chebotaryan (1918–1998), “grande dame of Armenian music” and Geghuni Chitchyan (b. 1929), two of the most pivotal figures in classical music in Armenia; Alicia Terzian (b. 1934) from Cordoba, Argentina; Sirvart Karamanuk (1912–2008), also from Scutari, Turkey; Sirvart Kazandjian from Ethiopia (1944-2020); and Mary Kouyoumdjian (b. 1983) of Beirut, Lebanon.
Arzruni has achieved recognition as a composer, ethnomusicologist, teacher, lecturer, writer, recording artist, broadcasting personality, producer and impresario. He has toured in these capacities throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. He has become a familiar figure through many television broadcasts, such as Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas Shows, and has been featured in a number of PBS specials—Around the World in ‘82, Gala of Stars and A Place of Dreams: Carnegie Hall at 100—and has recorded for European radio networks, including the BBC. Arzruni has given command performances at the White House, as well as the British, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic courts.
Motivated by ethnic awareness in the United States, Arzruni continuously researches the musical roots of his Armenian heritage. He recorded a three record anthology of Armenian piano music and co-produced an eight-disc set of instrumental and vocal Armenian music. He also delivered papers and organized symposia for such institutions as Harvard University, Columbia University and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Arzruni is the author of scholarly books and a contributor of articles for academic journals; he has also written for various editions of The New Grove Dictionary and the Dictionary of the Middle Ages. An artist of striking versatility, Arzruni has performed with Victor Borge, playing the role of straight man in the master’s hilarious musical programs.
In recognition of his invaluable contribution to Armenian musical heritage, His Holiness Karekin I in 1996, bestowed upon him an encyclical and the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Medal. In 2015, the president of the Republic of Armenia awarded him the Movses Khorenatsi Medal for exceptional achievement in cultural development.
This program is the first of the Mirak Chamber Music series. As part of the Armenian Cultural Foundation’s programs for 2025, the piano recital will take place on Sunday, April 13 at 5 pm, at the Robbins Memorial Town Hall in Arlington. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the ACF at (781-646-3090) during office hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
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