By Kenneth Martin
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
BELMONT, Mass. — The packed room at the headquarters of the National Association of Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) was filled with good cheer for the event on March 16 to mark (no pun intended) the 25th work anniversary of Academic Director Marc Mamigonian.
Silva Sedrakian, the director of NAASR, opened the evening ceremonies and congratulated Mamigonian for his service and especially his guidance during her first days and weeks at NAASR.
The evening events opened with a piano performance of a Chopin Impromptu by Tanya Bartevyan, pianist and composer, originally from Istanbul, and a graduate of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music.
An interview and conversational format followed up by a question-and-answer segment for in person and Zoom meeting viewers was led by Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, recently appointed Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and lecturer in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia University, and member of the NAASR Board of Directors.