OAKLAND GARDENS, N.Y. — On Saturday, April 13, the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs and the Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School came together to present an “Evening of Remembrance” to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It was a musical program presented in the church sanctuary to an audience of about 150 people.
Students Danielle Ashbahian and Nicole Mark opened the evening with a welcome for Fr. Abraham and Yeretzkin Karine Malkhasyan, Genocide survivor Charlotte Kechejian, and the rest of the guests.
Mark played the Komitas’ piece, Karoon, on the violin with Arthur Ipek accompanying her on the piano. Their performance was delightful and meaningful.
Immediately following her was concert pianist, Tanya Gabrielian, who played the Mansourian piece, Nostalgia. Her performance was sharp and dramatic. The Zvartnotz Quartet, with members Cecee Pantikian, Nikita Morozov, Aleksandr Nazaryan and David Bakamjian performed String Quartet No. 1 by E. Mirzoyan. The beauty of the sanctuary and the power of the performers made the audience feel as if they were in a formal concert hall.
Guests were then moved by Gabrielian and the quartet coming together to present Dvorak’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major. The emotion that it evoked was so powerful that some guests were even crying.
