AGBU Aleppo Celebrates a Fall Filled with Music

This fall, the Armenians of Aleppo had the chance to leave behind the daily struggles of war for a couple of hours to enjoy two musical performances by the AGBU-AYA Spendiarian Choir and the AGBU-AYA Gomidas Chamber Orchestra.

AGBU-AYA Spendiarian Choir

On October 26, 2014, AGBU-AYA Spendiarian Choir held a performance at the AGBU Center’s Nazarian Hall to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The concert, entitled “From the Past to Today,” was comprised of the choir’s best loved songs from its founding until today.

The event began with a presentation detailing the history of the choir, during which current choir members praised the devotion of the conductors who have enabled the choir to thrive over the years. Choir member Gassia Nersoyan recalled former conductor Jirair Altounian, saying: “On stage and during rehearsals, he would move us with his Armenian spirit. He would approach learning every new song with meticulousness and inspire us with his stories and explanations.” The evening included tributes to all former directors—Jirair Isgenian, Shoghag Apartian-Selimian, Shahé Keshishian, Boghos Abadjian, Robert Amirkhanian and Kayané Baghdassarian—and the current director, Dr. Sarkis Isgenian.

A special highlight of the event was the performance of two pieces directed by Shoghag Apartian-Selimian, who brought the characteristic jazz style of her directorship tenure to the evening’s performance.

In addition to former conductors, former choir members and music lovers from across the city, the event was attended by Tigran Gevorgyan, the Republic of Armenia’s consul general to Aleppo, Haroutiun Selimian, leader of the Protestant Armenian community of Aleppo, Fr. Datev Mikayelian representative of the prelate of the Diocese of Aleppo, Nerses Nersoyan, AGBU Syria District chairman, and Henry Arslanian, AYA chairman, as well as representatives from sister organizations.

The AGBU-AYA Spendiarian Choir is named after Alexander Spendiarian (1871-1928), one of the major figures in Armenian classical music. Spendiarian—often referred to by his Russified surname, Spendiarov—was a composer and conductor, but is best known for establishing the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra in Yerevan in 1925.

AGBU-AYA Gomidas Chamber Orchestra

On November 23, 2014, AGBU Aleppo welcomed an audience filled with dignitaries and music aficionados to the AGBU Center’s Nazarian Hall for a much anticipated performance by the AYA Gomidas Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra, led by Dr. Sarkis Isgenian, performed pieces by Gomidas, Mozart, Yamada, Melikian, Stamitz, Khatchadourian, Vivaldi, Brahms and Shostakovich.

Each one of the performers—Tavit Melkonian (violin), Sako Avakian (viola), Rosie Shoushanian (violin) and Shoushi Nakkashian (piano)—had taken part in the AGBU Musical Armenia Program (MAP), spending the summer in Yerevan to train with skilled musicians and learn about the history of Armenian music. It was clear to the audience that the specialized musical training they received during MAP added not only to the quality of the evening’s concert, but to the quality of the orchestra as a whole.

In attendance at the event was Tigran Gevorgyan, the Republic of Armenia’s consul general to Aleppo, Nerses Nersoyan, AGBU Syria District chairman, and Henry Arslanian, the chairman of the AYA, and Haroutiun Selimian, the leader of the Armenian Protestant community, who closed the program with heartfelt remarks about the work of the orchestra.

The AGBU-AYA Gomidas Chamber Orchestra is named after Gomidas Vartabed (1869-1935), the foremost musicologist in the Armenian musical tradition. A pioneer in the transcription and compilation of Armenian folk music, Gomidas also taught musicology and led both religious and lay choirs in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. The majority of the knowledge that Armenians have today about traditional music is, in large part, thanks to Gomidas and his work.

The AGBU-AYA Gomidas Chamber Orchestra was founded in Aleppo in 2006 with the goal of maintaining and enriching the Armenian musical heritage within the current generation. And today, despite the adversity that has struck the Armenian community of Syria, the orchestra continues to inspire hope for a return to normalcy, serving as a testament to the resilience of the Aleppo Armenian community.