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    Categories: 2017

Vordan Karmir from Vanadzor, Armenia to Headline Innovate Armenia

For Immediate Release 





USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: Syuzanna Petrosyan, Associate Director
Armenian@usc.edu
213.821.3943


Vordan Karmir from Vanadzor, Armenia to Headline Innovate Armenia

Vordan Karmir, a vibrant and powerful presence in Armenian music, will be 
headlining INNOVATE ARMENIA on September 23, 2016, at the USC campus. The band 
is named after an Armenian cochineal insect — a worm — that produced what 
became known as “the Armenian color.” A deep, striking shade of crimson red, 
the Vordan Karmir dye became an alluring and popular commodity among the 
peoples of the ancient world.   

A popular music group in Armenia, the band was formed in 2009 by a group of 
young men in Vanadzor, Armenia’s third largest city. Members Vahan Poghosyan, 
Davit Grigoryan, Davit Galstyan and Payqar Chakhoyan produce innovative music, 
addressing issues that range from corruption to social indifference. 

Vordan Karmir has travelled beyond Armenia to perform in the United Kingdom, 
Germany, Spain, Georgia and Russia. Their 2016 South by Southwest (SXSW) 
performance exposed them to a cutting edge audience of techies and music 
aficionados. 

INNOVATE ARMENIA is a day of innovation and discovery filled with 
thought-provoking, fast-paced talks, interactive experiences in chess-strategy 
and winemaking, and a full day of music. 

General festival information:

Innovate Armenia takes place Saturday, September 23, 10 am to 6 pm in Alumni 
Park and Bovard Hall on USC’s University Park Campus. Admission is free. 
All-day parking is $12 in USC parking structures. Participants are encouraged 
to park in Lot X at the corner of Figueroa and McCarthy Way, just off the 
Exposition Blvd exit of the 110 Freeway.

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About the Institute:

Established in 2005, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies supports 
multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex 
issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience—from post-genocide to 
the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving diaspora. The institute 
encourages research, publications and public service, and promotes links among 
the global academic and Armenian communities. 
 




Emil Lazarian: “I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
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