ARLINGTON, Mass. — The Armenian Cultural Foundation, will host a special piano recital on Sunday, October 25 at 5 p.m. The free concert, titled “Voices Across Time: Armenian Piano Music,” is an homage to Dr. Robert Mirak, who served as president of the Cultural Foundation (ACF) from 1992 to 2025.
The event is also a tribute to major diaspora Armenian composers and will conclude with a reception. A CD issued on the occasion by the ACF and Prima Facie label, will be available at the conclusion of the concert.
From the United Kingdom, renowned pianist Alessandra Pompili will take the audience through a musical journey of reflection and faith, a cornerstone of the Armenian cultural identity. Through short pieces, capturing impressions, emotions and remembered scenes, the concert will reconcile the trials and tribulations of life with the final voice: quiet hope on the horizon.
The concert, will comprise four parts: Invocation, Faith, Rediscovered Voices and Epilogue, includes pieces by Stéphan Elmas, Komitas, Alan Hovhaness, George I. Gurdjieff, Koharik Gazarossian, Loris Tjeknavorian, Aram Khachaturian and Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee. Some of the pieces will be world or United States premieres.
A distinguished scholar, entrepreneur and humanitarian, Mirak’s life reflected a deep commitment to learning, community, and cultural preservation. Through his insight, vision, and dedication, the oldest Armenian library-museum in the western hemisphere, was transformed from an idea into a vibrant “Shrine for culture:” Today, the ACF library, named after poet, lexicographer and philosopher, Eghia Demirjibashian (1858-1908), is a regional research center and repository of Armenian literary and musical treasures as well as unique multilingual collection in the Armenian Diaspora.
A graduate of Williams College, the University of Minnesota and Oxford University, Mirak earned his doctorate at Harvard. He became widely respected for his pioneering work in Armenian-American history, particularly his landmark study Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I, which remains an essential contribution to the field. His writing combined rigorous scholarship with a profound understanding of immigration, identity, and the enduring strength of cultural memory. Mirak served on the faculty of Boston University as an adjunct professor until he left his academic career to take responsibility for the family businesses. In 2014, he published Genocide Survivors, Community Builders: The Family of John and Artemis Mirak, a tribute to his parents.
