Dear Friend,

 

The Friends of Armenian Culture Society, in collaboration with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), is proud to present a concert in commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. 

 

Resilient Voices: 1915 – 2015 will feature the Boston premiere of Tigran Mansurian’s monumental work, the Requiem. Joining forces with the orchestra will be the Harvard Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and the Boston University Marsh Chapel Choir, all under the direction of BMOP music director, Gil Rose.

 

Born in 1939 in Beirut, Lebanon, Mr. Mansurian is widely recognized as Armenia’s foremost living composer.  The Los Angeles Times has described the Grammy Award nominee as a “composer of music in which deep cultural pain is quieted through an eerily calm, heart-wrenching beauty.”  Composed in 2009, the Requiem was Commissioned by the Munich Chamber Orchestra and dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

 

In addition to the Requiem, the program will also feature the first piano concerto by Shostakovich with the amazing, young and talented Nareh Arghamanyan as soloist; music by Boston's own Alan Hovhaness titled Khrimian Hayrig, and to start the program, a haunting work by Komitas.  There is a fascinating line connecting the composers and personalities in this program: Mr. Mansurian's music is heavily influenced by Komitas;  Khrimian Hayrig was the Catholicos of All Armenians who ordained Komitas as priest, and Komitas'  traumatic experience during the genocide is the most symbolic of the atrocities our people endured a century ago.

 

Please join us on October 18 to pay tribute to our ancestors and their resilience in the face of calamity, and to celebrate the survival of a rich cultural heritage. Please order your tickets before October 12 to take advantage of the special FACS prices, representing a 10% discount over box office prices. Tickets can be purchased online at FACSBoston.org, with no additional fees.

 

Lastly, we would like to kindly ask for your financial support. Your generosity will enable us to meet our financial obligation in bringing to Boston audiences this very special event. Please consider contributing and investing in our cultural presentations, promoting Armenian art and music.

 

We hope you will be able to join us on October 18.

 

Friends of Armenian Culture Society