Tweet
ISABEL BAYRAKDARIAN'S "REMEMBRANCE TOUR," SPONSORED BY ZORYAN INSTITUTE, DEDICATED TO ALL VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE
AZG Armenian Daily
10/09/2008
Culture, Diapsora
Toronto-- The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) (the IIGHRS) is honoured
to sponsor the Remembrance Concert Tour, as it is dedicated to the
victims of all genocides. The tour features the music of Gomidas
Vartabed (1869-1935), starring Isabel Bayrakdarian, who has captivated
audiences all over the world with her beautiful and moving soprano
voice.
Why is the IIGHRS sponsoring such a concert tour? Perhaps it has been
best expressed by Isabel Bayrakdarian, herself. "Their objective is
to raise awareness of genocide, this gross violation of human rights,
through the concert tour's profound theme of remembrance."
George Shirinian, the institute's Executive Director, stated, "We
believe in using every opportunity and medium to educate the public at
large about this heinous crime, and in this case through the musical
genius of Gomidas, and Isabel's interpretation of it. Defending truth
and human rights is everybody's business. We must all do our part."
"Gomidas, who collected, purified and preserved the essence of Armenian
music, had his life and music interrupted by the Armenian Genocide,"
explained Greg Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute. "Only
God knows how many other musical and artistic geniuses have been
lost to humanity due to the many genocides in the past seven decades
alone--Cambodia, the Jewish Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo,
East Timor, and now Darfur. It is therefore imperative that we use
this venue to bring about the awareness of and the sensitivity for
this universal trauma. It is equally important that the survivors of
genocide and their descendants, whatever their ethnicity, generously
support our institute for such a large undertaking--stretching from
New York to San Francisco, from Vancouver to Toronto--not only by
attending the concert itself, but also by helping the institute
underwrite the enormous costs involved."
Through Serouj and Isabel's journey of discovery with Gomidas, they
learned that one doesn't have to be Armenian to be touched by his
work. There is a mystical and a universally soul-stirring quality to
his songs, with an air of blissful sadness and child-like simplicity
that captures and moves the listener regardless of nationality, race,
or religion.
Given that the trauma of the Armenian Genocide is also part of Isabel's
identity, as the grandchild of a survivor, her working with Zoryan's
IIGHRS is a natural partnership.
As Serouj Kradjian noted, "On April 24, 1915 Gomidas Vartabed was
one of 300 Armenian intellectuals arrested and deported in the
first stage of the Armenian Genocide masterminded by the Ottoman
government, during the course of which some one-and-a-half million
Armenians perished. Due to the efforts of United States Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau, Gomidas was one of the few to return alive, only
to find that he had lost everything - friends, students, and most of
his life's work. He succumbed to intense physical and mental anguish,
became a ghost of his former vigorous self, and never composed or
sang again. He died in a mental institution near Paris on October
22, 1935. Gomidas purified Armenian music of all foreign influences
and gave it back to its people, laying the foundations of a national
music culture. This explains his rightful recognition as the 'father
of Armenian classical music.'"
"The program of the concert tour is woven around the orchestral
arrangements of Gomidas' folk songs and relates to the music and
culture of all persecuted nations," explains Isabel. "There are other
gems included in this unique program," she added, "such as Maurice
Ravel's "Kaddish," a prayer which is one of the masterpieces of
Jewish liturgy, 'Three Pieces in the Olden Style' by Henryk Gorecki,
best known for his stunning "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" depicting
misery and death in a Gestapo cell, and Nikos Skalkottas' undiscovered
'Greek Dances.'
According to Atom Egoyan, "Serouj Kradjian has provided arrangements of
sublime sensitivity, carefully harnessing the alternately meditative
and expressive gestures so specific to Gomidas' music. There are
moments--such as the end of "Karoun a" (It's Springtime), where
Kradjian's effects are truly miraculous."
"The songs of Gomidas have a very special place in my heart," Isabel
confided. "I feel each song encapsulates in it the pride of the
Armenian people and its tenacity and determination to survive despite
its difficult history. As one of my earliest artistic compasses,
these songs - with their unique nuances and inflections - continue
to influence everything I sing, interpret, and express," she concluded.
Gracing the front cover of the June/July 2008 issue of Opera Canada,
Isabel Bayrakdarian is admired as much for her stunning stage
presence as for her exceptional musicality, and she has followed a
unique career path completely her own. Since winning first prize at
the 2000 Operalia competition founded by Placido Domingo, she has
burst onto the international opera scene, gracing the stages of the
Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Paris Opera, Chicago
Lyric Opera, Salzburger Festspiele, Dresden Semperoper, Bavarian State
Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company among others. Singing under
the baton of such eminent conductors as James Conlon, David Zinman,
Michael Tilson-Thomas, Mariss Jansons, Leonard Slatkin, James Levine,
Peter Ounjian and Richard Bradshaw. She has won four consecutive
Junos (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys) for her work. She sings
on the Grammy award-winning soundtrack of the blockbuster film The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and her voice can also be heard
in the multiple award-winning Canadian film Ararat. She is also the
subject of a film entitled A Long Journey Home that documents her
first trip to Armenia. A collection of songs by Gomidas, recorded
with her husband and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, will be
released on Nonesuch Records to coincide with the concert tour.
Apart from her musical accomplishments, she holds an honors degree
in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
2008 North American Tour Dates & Venues
San Francisco Performances, Herbst Theatre - October 4
Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Renee & Henry Segerstrom
Concert Hall - October 5
Vancouver Symphony, Orpheum Theatre - October 7
Toronto, Roy Thomson Hall - October 17
Boston Celebrity Series, New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall -
October 19
New York City, Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall - October 20
For more information on Isabel Bayrakdarian, please visit
http://www.bayrakdarian.com/
The IIGHRS's mission is to encourage a new generation of scholars
to engage in research and publication in the field of genocide and
human rights studies. This is achieved through a comparative and
interdisciplinary analysis of such cases of genocide as the Jewish
Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide, and the Rwandan Genocide, among
others, using the Armenian Genocide as the point of reference. It
seeks to help develop an academic support system for those who work
toward the prevention of genocide. It strives to show, through the
study of the genocidal traumas of many peoples, that genocide is a
shared human experience and that, as such, it must be the concern of
all individuals and institutions.
For more information, visit www.zoryaninstitute.org, email
[email protected], or telephone (416) 250-9807.
AZG Armenian Daily
10/09/2008
Culture, Diapsora
Toronto-- The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) (the IIGHRS) is honoured
to sponsor the Remembrance Concert Tour, as it is dedicated to the
victims of all genocides. The tour features the music of Gomidas
Vartabed (1869-1935), starring Isabel Bayrakdarian, who has captivated
audiences all over the world with her beautiful and moving soprano
voice.
Why is the IIGHRS sponsoring such a concert tour? Perhaps it has been
best expressed by Isabel Bayrakdarian, herself. "Their objective is
to raise awareness of genocide, this gross violation of human rights,
through the concert tour's profound theme of remembrance."
George Shirinian, the institute's Executive Director, stated, "We
believe in using every opportunity and medium to educate the public at
large about this heinous crime, and in this case through the musical
genius of Gomidas, and Isabel's interpretation of it. Defending truth
and human rights is everybody's business. We must all do our part."
"Gomidas, who collected, purified and preserved the essence of Armenian
music, had his life and music interrupted by the Armenian Genocide,"
explained Greg Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute. "Only
God knows how many other musical and artistic geniuses have been
lost to humanity due to the many genocides in the past seven decades
alone--Cambodia, the Jewish Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo,
East Timor, and now Darfur. It is therefore imperative that we use
this venue to bring about the awareness of and the sensitivity for
this universal trauma. It is equally important that the survivors of
genocide and their descendants, whatever their ethnicity, generously
support our institute for such a large undertaking--stretching from
New York to San Francisco, from Vancouver to Toronto--not only by
attending the concert itself, but also by helping the institute
underwrite the enormous costs involved."
Through Serouj and Isabel's journey of discovery with Gomidas, they
learned that one doesn't have to be Armenian to be touched by his
work. There is a mystical and a universally soul-stirring quality to
his songs, with an air of blissful sadness and child-like simplicity
that captures and moves the listener regardless of nationality, race,
or religion.
Given that the trauma of the Armenian Genocide is also part of Isabel's
identity, as the grandchild of a survivor, her working with Zoryan's
IIGHRS is a natural partnership.
As Serouj Kradjian noted, "On April 24, 1915 Gomidas Vartabed was
one of 300 Armenian intellectuals arrested and deported in the
first stage of the Armenian Genocide masterminded by the Ottoman
government, during the course of which some one-and-a-half million
Armenians perished. Due to the efforts of United States Ambassador
Henry Morgenthau, Gomidas was one of the few to return alive, only
to find that he had lost everything - friends, students, and most of
his life's work. He succumbed to intense physical and mental anguish,
became a ghost of his former vigorous self, and never composed or
sang again. He died in a mental institution near Paris on October
22, 1935. Gomidas purified Armenian music of all foreign influences
and gave it back to its people, laying the foundations of a national
music culture. This explains his rightful recognition as the 'father
of Armenian classical music.'"
"The program of the concert tour is woven around the orchestral
arrangements of Gomidas' folk songs and relates to the music and
culture of all persecuted nations," explains Isabel. "There are other
gems included in this unique program," she added, "such as Maurice
Ravel's "Kaddish," a prayer which is one of the masterpieces of
Jewish liturgy, 'Three Pieces in the Olden Style' by Henryk Gorecki,
best known for his stunning "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" depicting
misery and death in a Gestapo cell, and Nikos Skalkottas' undiscovered
'Greek Dances.'
According to Atom Egoyan, "Serouj Kradjian has provided arrangements of
sublime sensitivity, carefully harnessing the alternately meditative
and expressive gestures so specific to Gomidas' music. There are
moments--such as the end of "Karoun a" (It's Springtime), where
Kradjian's effects are truly miraculous."
"The songs of Gomidas have a very special place in my heart," Isabel
confided. "I feel each song encapsulates in it the pride of the
Armenian people and its tenacity and determination to survive despite
its difficult history. As one of my earliest artistic compasses,
these songs - with their unique nuances and inflections - continue
to influence everything I sing, interpret, and express," she concluded.
Gracing the front cover of the June/July 2008 issue of Opera Canada,
Isabel Bayrakdarian is admired as much for her stunning stage
presence as for her exceptional musicality, and she has followed a
unique career path completely her own. Since winning first prize at
the 2000 Operalia competition founded by Placido Domingo, she has
burst onto the international opera scene, gracing the stages of the
Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Paris Opera, Chicago
Lyric Opera, Salzburger Festspiele, Dresden Semperoper, Bavarian State
Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company among others. Singing under
the baton of such eminent conductors as James Conlon, David Zinman,
Michael Tilson-Thomas, Mariss Jansons, Leonard Slatkin, James Levine,
Peter Ounjian and Richard Bradshaw. She has won four consecutive
Junos (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys) for her work. She sings
on the Grammy award-winning soundtrack of the blockbuster film The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and her voice can also be heard
in the multiple award-winning Canadian film Ararat. She is also the
subject of a film entitled A Long Journey Home that documents her
first trip to Armenia. A collection of songs by Gomidas, recorded
with her husband and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, will be
released on Nonesuch Records to coincide with the concert tour.
Apart from her musical accomplishments, she holds an honors degree
in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
2008 North American Tour Dates & Venues
San Francisco Performances, Herbst Theatre - October 4
Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Renee & Henry Segerstrom
Concert Hall - October 5
Vancouver Symphony, Orpheum Theatre - October 7
Toronto, Roy Thomson Hall - October 17
Boston Celebrity Series, New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall -
October 19
New York City, Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall - October 20
For more information on Isabel Bayrakdarian, please visit
http://www.bayrakdarian.com/
The IIGHRS's mission is to encourage a new generation of scholars
to engage in research and publication in the field of genocide and
human rights studies. This is achieved through a comparative and
interdisciplinary analysis of such cases of genocide as the Jewish
Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide, and the Rwandan Genocide, among
others, using the Armenian Genocide as the point of reference. It
seeks to help develop an academic support system for those who work
toward the prevention of genocide. It strives to show, through the
study of the genocidal traumas of many peoples, that genocide is a
shared human experience and that, as such, it must be the concern of
all individuals and institutions.
For more information, visit www.zoryaninstitute.org, email
[email protected], or telephone (416) 250-9807.