Armenian Government Invites Decker to Perform at Memorial Concert
Commemorating 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Government has officially invited U.S. world musician
Daniel Decker to perform at the Memorial Concert in Yerevan, Armenia on
April 23 to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide. Decker will sing Adana,” a song that tells the tragic story of
the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians during WWI. It is a collaboration
between Decker, who wrote the song’s lyrics, and Ara Gevorgian, one of
Armenia’s premier composers.
PRWeb.com
April 6, 2005
Syracuse, NY (PRWEB) April 6, 2005 — American singer-songwriter
Daniel Decker () today announced that the Armenian
government has extended an official invitation to him to perform the
song “Adana” at a special Memorial Concert it is hosting to commemorate
the 90th Anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. The concert
will take place at the Opera and Ballet Academic Theatre in Yerevan,
the capitol of Armenia, on Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
The Armenian Opera Orchestra, and Ara Gevorgian, one of Armenia’s
premier composers, will accompany Decker’s performance at the Memorial
Concert. Armenia’s President, Robert Kocharian, will be attending. Also
in attendance will be the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, His
Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
The song “Adana” tells the story of the Armenian Genocide, during which
soldiers of the Ottoman Empire forced 1.5 million Armenians into
starvation, torture and extermination because they would not renounce
their Christian faith. The song is a collaboration between Decker, who
wrote its powerful lyrics, and Gevorgian, its composer. “Adana” is
already played at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia, whenever
visiting foreign dignitaries visit.
Decker met Gevorgian by chance on a trip to Armenia in 2002. They first
collaborated with Decker writing the lyrics to a song the composer had
written for Armenia’s National Independence Day. “Noah’s Prayer”
chronicles the biblical story of Noah and his spiritual journey on the
ark to Mt. Ararat. With Gevorgian and the Armenian Opera Orchestra
accompanying him, Decker performed “Noah’s Prayer” live in 2002 during a
nationally televised outdoor concert with Mt. Ararat looming in the
background. Armenia’s President Kocharian, as well as ambassadors from
countries around the world, attended the event. After the concert,
President Kocharian approached Decker to shake his hand and personally
thank him for his participation.
The television broadcast transformed the song “Noah’s Prayer” into an
immediate hit and Decker into an instant celebrity in Armenia. The song
was repeatedly featured on Armenian radio and television, and Decker
gave numerous performances and press interviews. On his last visit to
the country in 2004, a reporter and television crew followed him
everywhere he went for three days.
It was the day after the 2002 concert that Decker heard Gevorgian’s
composition entitled “Adana.” Decker felt it was perfect to tell the
story of the Armenian genocide, an issue that moved him deeply, so he
arranged to meet Gevorgian the next day. “Before I could tell him my
idea to write the about the genocide, he said, ‘Please choose “Adana,
and please write about the genocide.'” Decker later discovered that
“Adana” is the name of the city in present-day Turkey where one of the
first massacres of the Armenian people took place. Thus, a second
collaboration was born.
“I wrote ‘Adana’ not only as a way to draw international attention to a
terrible tragedy, but as a source of healing to the Armenian people,”
explains Decker. Neither modern day Muslim Turkey, nor the United
States, an ally of Turkey, has formally recognized the Armenian
Genocide. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to perform with Daniel
again,” says Gevorgian. “Daniel has done a great thing for the people of
Armenia. When you listen to ‘Adana,’ you know that he was meant to write
the lyrics of this song to bring greater international awareness to the
Armenian Genocide.”
In addition to the work Decker has done to garner attention for the
genocide, Decker has also been working with relief organizations in
Armenia to bring aid to the poorest regions and to those that have been
hit the hardest, children and the elderly.
Both “Adana” and “Noah’s Prayer” can be found on Decker’s latest
recording entitled, “My Offering,” available on his website. With a
musical journey that has taken him to England, Puerto Rico, Canada and
Armenia, this CD reflects Decker’s love and appreciation of the many
cultures he has experienced. Along with his unique piano stylings, the
CD “My Offering” is a rich fusion of world music influences, with
flamenco guitars, Armenian duduk, Brazilian samba, Latin jazz, and
special performances by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
For more information about Decker, please visit
Please direct press inquiries to Anne Sharp at (818) 994-2309.
# # #
Contact Information:
Anne Sharp
SHARP CONCEPTS
818-994-2309
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress