ARMENIAN ENSEMBLE, DANCERS DAZZLE
By Fred Ortega

Glendale News Press, CA
Sept 19 2005

Glendale Community Concerts kicks off its season with a crowdpleasing
show of folk music and dance.

EAST GLENDALE — In the late 19th century, an Armenian priest by the
name of Komitas Vardapet traveled his native land, collecting folk
songs that for centuries had been passed on orally from generation
to generation.

If not for Vardapet’s work, melodies that make up the very fabric
of Armenian culture might have been lost for eternity. But thanks
to that work, more than 800 people gathered at the Glendale High
School Auditorium Sunday were able to enjoy hauntingly beautiful
renditions of “Akh Im Anoush Yar” (“Oh, Sweet Love of Mine”) and
“Eem Chinaree Yaruh” (“My Love Is Like a Tall Tree) as part of the
Glendale Community Concerts Assn.’s 2005-06 season premiere.

These and many other Armenian folk melodies, both ancient and modern,
were performed by the Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble, a Fresno
and Los Angeles-based group comprised mostly of Armenian musicians
displaced by the great Armenian earthquake of 1990. Also performing
in the event was the Zvartnots Dance Ensemble.

Zvartnots opened the show, with performances ranging from a melancholy
solo dance of “Elegia,” by renowned Armenian folk music composer
Kachatur Avetisyan, to a high-powered rendition of folk dance
melodies set to an electronic beat. The latter featured costumed men
in thigh-high boots linking arms and high-stepping around women in
traditional ankle-length dresses.

The Chookasian ensemble captivated the audience, playing
thousand-year-old instruments such as the kanun lap harp, the oboe-like
duduk and the tarr, a double-bodied lute, the sound of which resembles
the famed Russian balalaika.

Among the guests of honor at the concert was state Sen. Charles
Poochigian (R-Fresno), who characterized the event as a learning
experience combined with entertainment.

“The best part was being exposed to these unique, ancient instruments,”
Poochigian said. “It is like a history lesson in addition to a
musical performance. If you are a music lover, you can’t help but
appreciate it.”

All folk music seems to share some common themes, ensemble director
John Chookasian said.

“In every ethnic music there are crossovers of certain musical phrases,
and in our case some are common to Middle- and Near-Eastern formats,”
said Chookasian, a U.S. native whose wife, Barbara, also sings with
the group. “But there are also forms that are unique to each genre
which are discernible to students of music.”

The concert was amazing in that it brought Armenian music and culture
to an audience that was mostly non-Armenian, said Appo Jabarian,
a marketing director for USA-Armenian Life Magazine.

“Today’s event is really a celebration of the great American value
that encourages many cultures to flourish, that makes up the symphony
of cultures that is America,” Jabarian said.

For more information on future Glendale Community Concerts Assn.

events, visit www.glendalecommunity concerts.com.