NEW YORK—The Armenian General Benevolent Union’s (AGBU) New York Special Events Committee (NYSEC) is holding its 6th annual Performing Artists in Concert event on Sat., Dec. 7, at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. The concert will be dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the 1988 earthquake that devastated Armenia.
The AGBU NYSEC’s 6th Annual Performing Artists in Concert will feature (top row, L-R) Tomas Barreiro (composer, conductor), Pierre Bedrossian (oboe, duduk, English horn), Ani Kalayjian (cello), and Henrik Karapetyan (violin, viola); (second row, L-R) Solange Merdinian (mezzo-soprano), Nazig Tchakarian (violin/artistic director), Varta Tchakarian (piano), and Adam Tendler (piano).
The commemorative event promises to bring together young talents from Bulgaria, France, Mexico, and the U.S., including Tomas Barreiro (composer and conductor), Pierre Bedrossian (oboe, duduk, and English horn), Ani Kalayjian (cello), Henrik Karapetyan (violin and viola), Solange Merdinian (mezzo-soprano), Nazig Tchakarian (violin/artistic director), Varta Tchakarian (piano), and Adam Tendler (piano).
Through the AGBU Scholarship Program, each artist has received an AGBU Performing Arts Fellowship that supported their training at some of the world’s finest institutions, such as at the National Music Conservatory of Paris, the Juilliard School of Music, Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory, and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Their influences are diverse: Tomas Barreiro’s “Rossignol Mecanique,” which will make its world premiere at the event, is inspired by the sounds of his native Mexico City, as well as New York and Paris. It is a variation of “The Death of the Nightingale,” the piece that made Barreiro a winner in AGBU’s 2012 Sayat Nova International Composition Competition and earned him the prize to showcase his work at Carnegie Hall.
AGBU Performing Arts Department Director Hayk Arsenyan awarded Barreiro the Carnegie Hall Special Prize at the competition gala concert last year, which was organized by AGBU France. “Everyone who was present for that performance in Paris was amazed by the organic way ‘The Death of the Nightingale’ wove together Armenian and Mexican traditional art,” he said. “I am immensely excited to hear this new piece and share it with our New York audience.” The program will also feature works by Aram Khachaturian, in honor of the 110th anniversary of his birth, as well as the late Alexander Arutiunian and Edward Mirzoyan.
“As Armenians it is our responsibility to support each other as we preserve our cultural heritage,” said AGBU NYSEC member Nila Festekjian. “NYSEC is proud to help put on stage talented young Armenians who are pushing the boundaries, creating exciting new pieces while keeping the music of our past alive. We’re looking forward to a great evening celebrating these performers and our culture.”
Tickets for this benefit concert are on sale now. Orchestra and front balcony tickets are available for $65. For the special price of $35, limited seating is available in the rear balcony. Reserve your seat today by calling the AGBU events coordinator Sharis Boghossian at the AGBU office, (212) 319-6383; by calling the Carnegie Hall Box Office at (212) 247-7800; or by visiting www.carnegiehall.org. Donors who contribute $1,000 or more will be recognized in the NYSEC Concert Booklet and will receive two complimentary tickets as well as two invitations for dinner with the evening’s performers immediately following the concert. For more information, call (212) 319-6383. For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, visit www.agbu.org.