Detroit’s Armenian Radio Shows Forge Ahead

For the past 17 years, Masropian has been the affable host of what is now called the Armenian Radio Program. He has moved the time slot from 10 a.m. on Sundays, to 6 p.m. Under the slogan of “A Community in Unity,” he has forged relationships with the clergy of all four area Armenian churches, St. John’s (Diocese), St. Sarkis (Prelacy), St. Vartan’s Armenian Catholic Church, and the Armenian Congregational Church, whose clergy appear as regular guests on the show. Entering the digital age, the show is also now available online.

HARC (Heritage of Armenian Culture Radio)

The HARC Armenian radio program has an entirely different mission and role. The brainchild of community leader, cultural and literary critic, ADL/Tekeyan activist, and the Mirror-Spectator’s senior editorial columnist, Edmond Y. Azadian, HARC was launched in 1973. Azadian, as founder and executive director, saw the need for a different kind of program to serve not only the Armenian community but to introduce the wider public to Armenian culture.

The purpose, according to Azadian, was to promote Armenian culture and give it a more scholarly format as well. Funded by the Manoogian Foundation, the program does not have any advertising and doesn’t consider itself to be in competition with other radio programs that serve more popular tastes. Azadian credits four well-known individuals in the cultural realm that helped give the program a boost at its inception: Berge Jamgotchian, organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Detroit native Ara Berberian, operatic bass who later joined New York’s Metropolitan Opera; New York-based pianist, composer, and musicologist Shahan Arzruni; and Detroit-born, Juilliard-trained Armenian popular folk and dance clarinetist and ethnomusicologist Hachig Kazarian.

Originally airing on Wayne State University’s WDET radio station and hosted by influential local radio personality and WDET anchor Judy Adams (of Armenian descent), the program was also syndicated and aired across the US and Canada. In the days when everything was done on reel-to-reels, the recording of the show would be circulated to stations as far as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and even Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Initially, a committee composed of Azadian and community leaders and musicians such as Alice Haidostian and Margaret Benian (both noted pianists) had developed the plans for the program. Benian had suggested Charlene Apigian to be involved in the planning committee as well. Since part of the goal was to provide academic level information on composers, artists, and other cultural figures, Apigian suggested the creation of an archive or mini-library of information on these individuals. In 1976, Apigian was given the role of program host and co-producer.

As the program developed, operations were moved from the WDET studio to a specially-constructed radio room in the St. John’s Armenian Church complex in Southfield. Recording engineer, Ron Manasian, was put in charge of constructing the radio room along with his cousin Joe Arslanian, a carpenter. An impressive mini-studio was built, complete with reel-to-reel players, turntables, microphones, shelving units for the completed shows, storage for LPs and cassettes, drawers, etc. In a nearby room were the file cabinets with all of the newspaper clippings, photographs, and pamphlets that Apigian had collected. For about 15 years, Apigian ably served as host with Manasian as engineer.

“Initially our idea was to broadcast not only music, but also to develop the music archives so that any individual could come and use our archives. That’s why we have accumulated the voices of many historic artists,” Azadian states, and goes onto name Akim Tamiroff, William Saroyan, Alan Hovhaness, sculptor Roupen Nakian, the Kavafian sisters (classical violinists), Ludwig Basil (an Armenian composer from Germany), and scholars like David Marshall Lang, Christopher Walker, and theatre figure Gerald Papasian. Azadian also gives credit to Soviet Armenia’s “Committee for Cultural Relations with Armenians Abroad” which provided HARC regularly with music and texts (translated by Azadian) from 1973 until the fall of the USSR.

For the last 30 years, Suzy Cazanjian has been the host of HARC. As a student at Wayne State University in Detroit, Cazandjian majored in public relations but was heavily involved in taking the Armenian studies courses offered at the time by Professor Dickran Toumajan, as well as music. Cazandjian, a classical pianist, was passionate about introducing the music of Armenian composers such as Khachaturian, Babajanian, and Barkhoudarian in piano competitions that she entered. Toumajan introduced her to Azadian at a time when Apigian needed to retire from the radio program, and she was given the role. Cazandjian sees her job as host as a natural extension of her championing of Armenian music through her own appearances as a pianist.

The current focus of the program is on classical, opera, folk and liturgical music. Features on Armenian composers, musicians, writers, and poets are included as well as documentaries on Armenian history and culture. Everything is broadcast in English. Cazandjian says that she gets a lot of feedback from non-Armenian listeners and it thrills her that they are hearing this music that they wouldn’t be able to hear otherwise.

Typically, Cazandjian does 3 contrasting segments. At one time, according to Azadian, the 3 segments would be classical, folk music, and an interview. Cazandjian says that she sometimes might do a documentary program which could take up the whole show or half the show. She does the research and prepares the programs, as well as hosts the show. Azadian has stepped back into more of an advisory capacity at this point. For the past 22 years, the show has, like the Armenian Radio Hour, moved to WNZK, where it now airs on Sundays at 9 p.m.

Apigian reminisced about some of the famous Armenians that have appeared on the program in her time: Eddie Mekka (from the TV show “Laverne and Shirley”), Mike Connors (star of “Mannix”), and movie actor David Hedison.

“We featured anything written by or performed by an Armenian,” Apigian recalls. They would record noted baritone opera singer Ara Berberian (a Detroit native) reciting poetry. In some cases, Apigian was able to get noted poets such as Diana Der Hovanessian and David Kherdian to record themselves reciting their own poetry at their homes, and send the tapes back to Detroit.

“The caliber of artists we’ve had on the program, everything about it is very unique and special,” says Cazandjian.

For a schedule of the programs, visit http://www.birach.com/wnzkpgm.html