WATERTOWN — The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia completed its tour of the United States with a concert at the Watertown Middle School on Sunday, October 5 presented by the Hi-AM Charity Foundation and the Amaras Art Alliance of Boston, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia, the National Centre of Chamber Music/ Կամերային երաժշտության ազգային կենտրոն and the Klingen Choir and Cultural Association of London.
The 25-member orchestra, based in Yerevan, was conducted by Sipan Olah of London, and featured soprano Hayarpi Yeghikyan, pianist Sona Barseghyan, and violinist Astghik Vardanyan, with Olah also performing as a tenor for some pieces. This was the first time this orchestra, founded in 1996, ever performed in Boston.
Armine Manukyan, a board member of Amaras Art Alliance and the principal of Erebuni Armenian Saturday School of Belmont, served as the master of ceremonies and introduced the various pieces, many of which were newly arranged. The first half of the program consisted largely of popular Armenian pieces by Komitas, an Aram Khachaturian medley, a Tigran Mansurian medley of soundtracks, several Robert Amirkhanyan pieces, Vagharshak Kotoyan’s Im Yerevan [My Yerevan], and, in the presence of the composer, Konstantin Petrossian’s Hayastan.
The second half of the program, after intermission, was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Charles Aznavour’s birth, with the performance of many Aznavour favorites.
