FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — Renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) violinist Kimberly Kennedy has recorded The Freedom, the first movement of Dan Yessian’s classical composition An Armenian Trilogy. The performance was recorded to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day which will be held on April 24, 2024. Kennedy started performing with the DSO in 1998 at the age of just 22 and is now Associate Concertmaster. She visited Yessian Music in Farmington Hills, Mich. to make the recording to honor the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Ottoman empire and Yessian’s effort to commemorate them.
In 2014, Yessian was challenged by Rev. Garabed Kochakian, pastor emeritus of St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, to compose a piece of music to give voice to those who had theirs brutally taken away. After Kochakian’s request, Yessian began imagining how he would create a meaningful work. Yessian, a highly experienced musician and composer, and the founder of the international music production company Yessian Music, traveled far beyond that initial request. His journey led him to compose a 22-minute symphonic tribute. “Through this music, I had a chance to step back and chronicle my heritage,” he said.
‘An Armenian Trilogy was originally written as a duet arrangement for violin and piano creating three movements: The Freedom, The Fear and The Faith, which debuted in Michigan in 2015. Yessian then took on the immense task of orchestrating his composition for 91 pieces, which was performed at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall by the world-renowned Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra in Armenia in 2017. Eventually, an award-winning documentary, also called An Armenian Trilogy, was made which followed Yessian through his childhood as a talented clarinet player, the early years of building his music production company, and then his travels to his ancestral homeland of Armenia, where he and his family explored their rich heritage and heard his composition performed by a professional orchestra for the first time.
“I’m here to raise awareness about An Armenian Trilogy, a suite of music written by Yessian in commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide,” Kennedy said in a YouTube video prior to her performance. “I’m very proud to be here representing Yessian and his composition and I hope you find it as inspiring as I have.”
Yessian said he was very moved to hear Kennedy’s stunning performance. “Nine years after my work was first performed in Michigan it is a real privilege to have such a talented artist as Kennedy continue to give such a beautiful, fresh voice to my work as we continue to honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” said Yessian.
An Armenian Trilogy featuring the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, can be seen on YouTube.
