The Little Singers of Armenian choir, conducted by Tigran Hekekyan, has taken part in the 52nd annual Abu Ghosh Festival of vocal music hosted by Israel. The Armenian choir has left for Israel upon the invitation of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Choral Federation and Abu-Gosh Vocal Festival.
The concert tour of the Little Singers of Armenia was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Armenia and Israel, the choir said in a Facebook post.
The Armenian singers performed concerts in a number of cities in Israel – Rehovot Akko, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Emek-Hefer and Abu-Gosh.
Abu-Gosh Festival is held at the church of the country’s Abu-Gosh village, with the participating soloists, choirs and vocal ensembles meticulously selected by the organizers.
No other Armenian children’s choir has received an invitation to participate in the festival before the Little Singers. The choir enjoyed such a great popularity in Israel that months before the its arrival, the Israeli media already reported that renowned children’s choir conducted by Tigran Hekekyan was among the participants of the festival.
The performance of the Little Singers of Armenia was held in the overcrowded temple. The choir presented a program that combines music by Mozart, Bizet and Debussy with Armenian folk songs, receiving a stormy response by the audience: “It is wonderful, extraordinary, magical, unprecedented …."
An Israeli deputy foreign minister noted in his speech that many of the choirs are unable to perform Hebrew songs with such a flawless manner as the Armenian Little Singers did. “I cannot find words to say. This is inexplicable. It is impossible to believe everything I heard today. It is wonderful, divine,” he added.
