– Less than a month before the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Conductor Greg Hosharian will take to the stage with the American Pops Orchestra to perform “Sounds of the Diaspora” on Sunday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. at The Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. The concert will benefit the Edward Hosharian Scholarship Fund, which provides students of Armenian descent an opportunity to pursue their educational goals in music.
“Sounds of the Diaspora is a culmination of genres that I’m passionate about,” said Conductor Greg Hosharian. “Chamber music, jazz, Armenian classical – it’s music that I love. What better way to tell the story of the Armenian people than through music, a medium that transcends age, gender and culture.”
“Sounds of the Diaspora” chronicles the plight of the Armenian people who were forced to flee their homeland during the genocide. Survivors had to scatter to foreign lands with little money or belongings, and the music performed by the Armenian Pops Orchestra reflects their adopted cultures of Russia, the Middle East, Greece, South America, Georgia, the United States and, of course, their beloved Armenia.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Edward Hosharian Scholarship Fund, named in honor of Hosharian’s father, the late composer and conductor, established to assist Armenian students in pursuit of their educational goals in music. Applicants must be of Armenian descent, a full-time student in need of financial assistance and attending an accredited college or university in the United States whose status is a sophomore or above and majoring in music performance or composition.
“My dad was an educator,” added Hosharian. “He taught music right here in Los Angeles at Roosevelt High and was director of the marching band. After immigrating to the United States at age nine from Kiev, Ukraine, he was able to fulfill his dream by writing a ballet version of the opera Anoush which premiered in New York in 1975. I know he’d be so proud of the work we are doing on his behalf.”
Greg Hosharian, who will premiere his original work, Castle, will also welcome to the stage vocalist Ayline Amirayan, pianist Siranush Sandaldjian Mudrek, and guest conductor Tigran Arakelyan, a 2015 Edward Hosharian Scholarship recipient, to perform works by Aram Khachaturian, Ara Gevorgyan, Edward Hosharian, Robert Amirkhanyan, Mikis Theodorakis, Boris Fomin and Arno Babajanyan.