Voices across time: An homage to Robert Mirak
Arlington, Mass. — The Armenian Cultural Foundation will hold a special piano recital on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. The free concert, entitled “Voices Across Time: Armenian Piano Music,” is an homage to Dr. Robert Mirak, who served as president of the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) from 1992 to 2025. The event is also a tribute to major diaspora Armenian composers and will conclude with a reception. A CD issued on the occasion by the ACF and Prima Facie label will be available at the conclusion of the concert.
From the United Kingdom, renowned pianist Alessandra Pompili will take the audience through a musical journey of reflection and faith, a cornerstone of the Armenian cultural identity. Through short pieces, capturing impressions, emotions and remembered scenes, the concert will reconcile the trials and tribulations of life with the final voice: quiet hope on the horizon.
The concert, comprised of four parts: Invocation, Faith, Rediscovered Voices and Epilogue, includes pieces by Stéphan Elmas, Komitas, Alan Hovhaness, George I. Gurdjieff, Koharik Gazarossian, Loris Tjeknavorian, Aram Khachaturian and Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee. Some of the pieces will be world and U.S. premieres.
About Dr. Robert Mirak
A distinguished scholar, entrepreneur and humanitarian, Dr. Robert Mirak’s life reflected a deep commitment to learning, community and cultural preservation. Through his insight, vision and dedication, the oldest Armenian library-museum in the Western Hemisphere was transformed from an idea into a vibrant “shrine for culture.” Today, the ACF library, named after poet, lexicographer and philosopher, Eghia Demirjibashian (1858-1908), is a regional research center and repository of Armenian literary and musical treasures as well as a unique multilingual collection in the Armenian Diaspora.
A graduate of Williams College, the University of Minnesota and Oxford University, Mirak earned his doctorate at Harvard. He became widely respected for his pioneering work in Armenian American history, particularly his landmark study “Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I,” which remains an essential contribution to the field. His writing combined rigorous scholarship with a profound understanding of immigration, identity and the enduring strength of cultural memory. Mirak served on the faculty of Boston University as an adjunct professor until he left his academic career to take responsibility for the family businesses. In 2014, he published “Genocide Survivors, Community Builders: The Family of John and Artemis Mirak,” a tribute to his parents.
Alongside his academic achievements, Dr. Mirak carried forward a family tradition of entrepreneurship and philanthropy rooted in service to both the Armenian and broader American communities. Through his leadership in business and his generous support of educational, cultural and charitable initiatives, he helped strengthen institutions devoted to scholarship, music and the arts. Together, with his daughters, he continued his father’s generous support of social, educational, medical and agricultural projects in Armenia and Arlington.
Remembered for his intellect, integrity and generosity of spirit, Robert Mirak leaves a lasting legacy as a bridge between heritage and contemporary cultural life.
About Alessandra Pompili
Known for her “iron-steel technique, infallibility in touch, capacity of self-control and clear and limpid phrasing … a trenchancy that is out of the ordinary,” Alessandra Pompili has performed as a soloist to critical and public acclaim throughout Italy, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Iceland, Germany, Poland and the United States.
Pompili is the artistic director and co-founder of the professional concert season Ashley Notes in the UK and pianist-in-residence of the Società Dante Alighieri in Manchester.
A specialist in the piano music of Alan Hovhaness, Pompili has premiered many of his works in concert and on disc. She has released two CDs of Hovhaness’ piano works containing premieres. The recordings were selected as a Naxos Critics’ Choice for June 2015 and have since been broadcast internationally, receiving critical acclaim.
Pompili is also associated with religious music for piano, particularly with Liszt’s “Via Crucis,” which she has performed more than 200 times across Europe since 2009. Her performance at the Vatican Museums was recorded live by Vatican Radio and broadcast through the EBU during Holy Week 2013. In 2024, she released a studio recording of Via Crucis on the Prima Facie label.
The recital, free and open to the public, will take place on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. at the Armenian Cultural Foundation (441 Mystic St.), Arlington.
