Armenia News Bulletin 10-30-09

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Armenia News Bulletin 10-28-09

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AGBU-sponsored Karabakh Chamber Orchestra is 5 Years Old!

For those of you that may have missed the following item in one of the AGBU Armenia News Bulletin’s from last week….happy birthday Karabakh Chamber Orchestra! The text is edited for clarity:

On October 16, at 7:00 pm, a concert dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Karabakh Chamber Orchestra (KCO) took place at the Stepanakert culture palace. The hall was full as always. Guests from Armenia, including mezzo-soprano Lilit Grikorian, soprano Irina Zakian, composer Eduard Sadoyan, as well as the “Mrakats” choir from Karabakh participated in the concert.

Congratulatory messages from the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) General Assembly, NKR Culture Ministry, Republic of Armenia’s Culture Ministry, Yerevan State Conservatory, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Armenian Chamber Orchestra, Armenian State Academic Choir, and other organizations and individuals were presented during an official ceremony before the concert.

During the jubilee concert, KCO performed the works of Handel, Aram Khachaturian, Rossini, Verdi, Sayat Nova, Arno Babajanian, and Piazzolla.

The concert was followed by a reception attended by NKR Culture Minister Narine Aghabalian, the whole KCO staff, musicians, cultural figures, guests.

The idea of establishing a chamber orchestra in Karabakh was born during the meeting of former NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian and AGBU President Berge Setrakian in the spring of 2004. KCO started operating in September of that same year under the sponsorship of AGBU, which continues until today. In the beginning the majority of the musicians in the orchestra were from Armenia. Today, the proportion has changed in favor of Karabakh performers. Besides performing in the Orchestra, KCO musicians also teaches music at music schools in Shoushi and Stepanakert, which will help sustain the Orchestra into the future. Headed by General Manager and Principal Conductor Gevork Muradian during the five years of its existence, KCO has garnered a reputation of being one of the best chamber orchestras in the South Caucasus. Among a number of successes the biggest achievement of the Orchestra has been the rebirth of cultural life in the war-torn Karabakh.

Maestro Gevork Muradian has also been granted a title of NKR Honored Artist by NKR President Bako Sahakian.

Armenia News Bulletin 10-26-09

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Armenia News Bulletin 10-21-09

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Armenia News Bulletin 10-19-09

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Armenia News Bulletin 10-16-09

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Armenia News Bulletin 10-14-09

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Joint Statement of Major Armenian-American Institutions Welcoming the President of the Republic of Armenia

The protocols initialed by Armenia and Turkey present new opportunities and pose new challenges to generations-old issues. We welcome the initiative of the President of the Republic of Armenia in taking a positive approach to the process of normalizing relations with Armenia’s neighbor, the Republic of Turkey. Successive Armenian governments previously offered to normalize relations and reopen the border without preconditions only to be rebuffed by Turkey, which has insisted on Armenians forfeiting Nagorno Karabakh and renouncing the Armenian Genocide, among other conditions. Thus, the protocols announced on August 31st represent a marked change from the past. Turkey has now publicly committed to establish normal relations without preconditions, and the process has yielded remarkable progress.

At the same time, it is also true that this public commitment has been met with widespread skepticism. Conflicting remarks often proffered by Turkish officials contradict Turkey’s formal commitment. Despite such counterproductive comments, it does not change the fact that Turkey’s commitment to normalize relations without preconditions has not only been brokered and verified by the Swiss government (a government that is on record affirming the Armenian Genocide), but has also been reinforced by the United States of America and the Obama Administration, as well as France, Russia, and the European Union. This means that Turkey has for the first time formally dropped its long-held preconditions regarding the Nagorno Karabakh peace process and its demands on Armenia with respect to affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenia News Bulletin (Sept. 30)

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Some highlights:

• Edward Nalbandyan Meets with Representatives of American Armenian Organizations [Armenpress, 09/30/09]
• Office of Swiss Embassy Opens in Yerevan [Hayastani Hanrapetutiun, 09/26/09]
• Opening Armenian-Turkish Border to Have Considerable Impact on Armenian Economy, Ashot Shahnazarian Says [Noyan Tapan, 09/26/09]
• Armenia is in the 43rd Place in the World with its Ease to do Business [Hayastani Hanrapetutiun, 09/29/09]
• “Armenpress” Photo Collection Presented in Ijevan [Armenpress, 09/30/09]
• Presentations of New Armenian Films to be Held Per Week in “Moscow” Cinema [Armenpress, 09/30/09]