organized an evening of music and poetry in dedication to the 91st commemoration of
the Armenian Genocide. The event was about more than remembering the tragic events
of 1915, it was also a celebration of the survival of the Armenian people and the nation of
Armenia. Over 500 were in attendance for the event, called “The Nation That Would not
Die.” “This was a great evening of culture for the Armenian Community of Orange
County. Truly unique and different,” said one of the attendees.
The program began with a moment of silence for the victims of the Genocide and a video
presentation of a modern version of Hayr Mer (Lord’s Prayer), followed immediately by
tenor Andranik Movsisyan’s rendition of “Tsayn Mu Hunchets,” a traditional Armenian
patriotic song.
ANC-OC member Lucy Der-Yeghiaian welcomed the guests by giving a brief synopsis of
the Ottoman Empire’s plan to erase the collective existence of the Armenian Nation from
its homeland and that the evening’s event was to remember by celebrating survival. She
went on to say that “Tonight you will experience the descendants of those survivors, as
they express through the venue of their art the genocide that lies within each of them;
their expression of survival.”
Next on stage was Gor Mkhitarian, a rising star in Armenian folk music. Gor is the
embodiment of the modern Armenian folk artist who creates a compelling and distinct
sound by mixing of rock, folk, and Armenian traditional music. Accompanied by his
acoustic guitar he dazzled the audience with his melodic voice and beautiful lyrics. The
substance and texture of his work revealed spirituality, nationalism and social
commentary.
Aram Kouyoumdjian performed an excerpt from his original monologue entitled
“Protest.” This moving performance has been shown in most major cities throughout
California and at the Finborough Theatre in London. The monologue begins with a
group protesting the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide in front of the Turkish
Consulate. As the story evolves, the narrator begins to drift away from the scenes and
events at the consulate and finds himself in the Syrian deserts face to face with the
Armenian Goddess Anahid. As the vision unfolds we are reminded of not only the
suffering of those hundreds of thousands and what the survivors had to endure, but also
of the responsibility we all bear in seeing that the lives of those lost are not forgotten.
The video presentation that followed highlighted the atrocities committed by the Turks
against the Armenians. Image after image of tortured souls was seared into the minds
of the audience. And then the pictures changed. No longer were the faces on the screen
those of the victims of the Genocide, but the Armenian Generals and Fedayees that
fought off the invading Ottoman Army in 1918 to secure Armenia’s Independence. The
crowd roared and applauded as each image of the leaders and fedayees played on the
screen.
Levon Bedrossian, took the stage next and dedicated his performance to the memory of
his grandfather, Stepan Haitayan. Levon explained how his Grandfather was forced to
hide under the bodies of the dead in order to survive. The emotion of that tragic event
was not lost on Levon, as he recited his poem, “Echoes of Genocide” with a great deal of
passion. Levon’s poem had won first prize at UCLA and was published in the Daily Bruin.
Narek Pogosyan and Rafik Oganyan of the contemporary rock band Slow Motion Reign
performed next, each playing acoustic guitar with Narek on vocals. Their musical
compositions were complex and multifaceted, their songs were beautifully filled with
texture and three dimensional depth. They also have a highly anticipated CD to be
released in June of this year.
The next video presentation was dedicated to the brave men and women, also known as
the Armenian Fedayees, who defended the provinces against the Turkish plan of
extermination. The images from the video showed those who fought to defend the
Armenian population and eventually created the first Republic, and those who struggled
to lead the devastated country that had suffered so much at the hands of the Turks.
The video was followed by members of the Orange County Aghpur Serop Badanees and
students of the Ari Guiragos Minassian School. The group performed “Verkerov Le” in
what was one of the more moving performances of the evening. The children sang in
perfect unison, striking every note with intent and purpose. The song they had selected
to perform was difficult and they did an excellent job in their rendition. Many of the
members of the audience commented after the performance that they had rarely heard
“Verkerov Le” performed so well.
Next up was Yeva Adalyan, originally from Yerevan, Armenia and a graduate of the acting
and theatre arts department of Pasadena College. A graphic designer by day who also
has her own line of hand made jewelry. Yeva is an amazing poet, inspired by those
around her, she writes about people and their beautiful idiosyncrasies. Yeva selected
three of her original poems to perform, which were innovative and thought provoking.
The final video presentation of the evening was dedicated to the historic Armenian
homeland known as Western Armenia, which is comprised of the six Vilayets lost after
the perpetration of the Genocide; Erzerum, Van, Bitlis, Kharpert, Sepastia and Diyarbekir.
The images from each of the six provinces were both beautiful and heart breaking as it
gave tangible proof of not only the lives lost as a result of the Genocide, but the beautiful
lands of historic Armenia.
The video was followed by a few words from Ara Malazian, on behalf of the Armenian
National Committee of Orange County. In his speech, Ara briefly outlined the Turkish
goal of creating a Pan-Turkic state and how the Armenians stood in the way of that goal.
The remainder of his speech focused instead on the progress that has been made over
the past several years on many fronts thanks to the efforts of Armenians worldwide and
the efforts of the Armenian National Committee; the Independent Republic of Armenia,
the formation of the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabagh, the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide in Europe and several U.S. States. Ara also focused on how we
need to build on the Anti-American stance of Turkey to persuade the United States that
Turkey is not its true ally, and continue the campaign to gain recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, as a step to creating a free, independent, and truly united Armenia.
Knowledge, originally from the United Kingdom, documented as England's first rapper in
Black Echoes magazine in 1980 and one of the top slam poets in Los Angeles,
performed two poems that he had written regarding the Armenian Genocide. The first
poem began with Adolf Hitler’s famous quote “Who today remembers the Genocide of
the Armenians” and was a moving description of the suffering of those who lived and
died throughout the Genocide. The second poem was powerful and intense as it
described the journey of Soghomon Tehlirian from innocent child to victim of the
Genocide to avenger against Talaat Pasha as one of the chief organizers of the
Armenian Genocide. Knowledge was accompanied on guitar by his friend, Robert.
Viken Yakoubian took the stage next. For the first time in over 15 years, guests had an
opportunity to be inspired by his unique artistic sound and his mastery of the piano. He
opened with his infamous rendition of “Blowing in the Wind.” His collection of songs
were a composition of music and lyric, inspired by nationalistic themes with an
underlying tone of self-exploration and reflection.
The final musical performer of the evening was the famed Armenian singer Karnig
Sarkissian. Karnig dedicated his first song to the lives and lands lost in Western
Armenia. He commented on how we may sometimes forget the beauty of that which
was lost and why it is important that we not give up on our goals of returning once again.
Karnig dedicated another one of his songs to the younger members of the audience. In
a very moving scene during that performance the youth in the audience rose to their feet,
standing on their chairs and joined Karnig.
The evening ended with Karnig Sarkissian and Viken Yakoubian joining together to sing
the popular “Prison Song” which was a huge hit in the Armenian community in the 1980’
s, as well as in Orange County on April 2nd, 2006.
The evening was considered a great success by all those who attended. “It [the event]
was inspiring, thought-provoking, and impressive in every way. I am sure those who
were there will remember it for a long time, and those who weren't will regret for having
missed it”, said one attendee, which was echoed throughout Southern California during
the following week.
