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ARMENIAN FEST TO FEATURE RISING JAZZ STAR
Times and Transcript
Sept 23 2011
Canada
Fourth Moncton Armenian Festival takes place Oct. 27 to Nov. 6
Twenty years after the country regained independence following the fall
of the Soviet Union, Armenian culture will once again be celebrated
in Metro Moncton next month.
Events for the fourth Moncton Armenian Festival were unveiled at
Moncton City Hall yesterday, including an array of music, film,
art exhibitions and other events running from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6.
Although she says Moncton's Armenian community is limited to a handful
of established families, organizer Sylvia Kasparian says the wider
Metro population has become increasingly a part of the festival.
"Every year more people are attending and now they know it's a very
high level," she says.
"Multicultural festivals are growing, because I think people like
that, they want something different, but they never have been exposed
to this."
The festival is held every two years, with the inaugural edition
coming in 2005 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Ottoman
massacre of about 1.5 million Armenians - an act Canada has recognized
as a genocide.
This year's event begins with a keynote concert from Armenian
pianist Tigran Hamasyan. At just 24, he has already captured several
high-profile awards and a recording contract with Verve Records,
arguably the genre's premier label.
His music is based on Armenian traditions and folklore, but with
modern influences like rock, jazz and even heavy metal.
"He has been described as being in a class all his own," Kasparian
says of the young virtuoso.
Hamasyan will play at Dieppe's Arts and Culture Centre the evening of
Oct. 27, after hosting a free discussion of his work, technique and
personal journey at the Faculty of Arts at l'Universite de Moncton
that morning.
The festival will also include an exhibition by visual artist and
filmmaker Serguei Parajanov, as well as medieval and sacred music
from the Oshakan Vocal Quartet and other musicians. Litergical and
sacred songs are important in Armenian culture, Kasparian says, as
the country was the first to officially adopt Christianity in 301 AD.
"It's such an old civilization and culture and it's important that
people know about history and old cultures. Here, everything is new
and people don't know what the roots are," she says.
* For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit
festivalarmenien.com
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1442417
Times and Transcript
Sept 23 2011
Canada
Fourth Moncton Armenian Festival takes place Oct. 27 to Nov. 6
Twenty years after the country regained independence following the fall
of the Soviet Union, Armenian culture will once again be celebrated
in Metro Moncton next month.
Events for the fourth Moncton Armenian Festival were unveiled at
Moncton City Hall yesterday, including an array of music, film,
art exhibitions and other events running from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6.
Although she says Moncton's Armenian community is limited to a handful
of established families, organizer Sylvia Kasparian says the wider
Metro population has become increasingly a part of the festival.
"Every year more people are attending and now they know it's a very
high level," she says.
"Multicultural festivals are growing, because I think people like
that, they want something different, but they never have been exposed
to this."
The festival is held every two years, with the inaugural edition
coming in 2005 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Ottoman
massacre of about 1.5 million Armenians - an act Canada has recognized
as a genocide.
This year's event begins with a keynote concert from Armenian
pianist Tigran Hamasyan. At just 24, he has already captured several
high-profile awards and a recording contract with Verve Records,
arguably the genre's premier label.
His music is based on Armenian traditions and folklore, but with
modern influences like rock, jazz and even heavy metal.
"He has been described as being in a class all his own," Kasparian
says of the young virtuoso.
Hamasyan will play at Dieppe's Arts and Culture Centre the evening of
Oct. 27, after hosting a free discussion of his work, technique and
personal journey at the Faculty of Arts at l'Universite de Moncton
that morning.
The festival will also include an exhibition by visual artist and
filmmaker Serguei Parajanov, as well as medieval and sacred music
from the Oshakan Vocal Quartet and other musicians. Litergical and
sacred songs are important in Armenian culture, Kasparian says, as
the country was the first to officially adopt Christianity in 301 AD.
"It's such an old civilization and culture and it's important that
people know about history and old cultures. Here, everything is new
and people don't know what the roots are," she says.
* For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit
festivalarmenien.com
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1442417