Concert at the Washington National Cathedral

04 March, 2020

Unprecedented multimedia performance was held at the Washington National Cathedral in the framework of the “An Armenian Odyssey: The Color of Pomegranates” festival, dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Armenian-American diplomatic relations, on March 4. The event was organized by the Armenian Embassy, in collaboration with the PostClassical Ensemble.
Anna Hakobyan, the spouse of the Prime Minister of Armenia, was the Guest of Honor. Members of the Congress, high-ranking officials from the US administration, Ambassadors accredited to the US, religious leaders, philanthropists, representatives of Armenian-American organizations and institutions, as well as of Armenian community attended the event.
The concert program started with the incredibly touching performance of the Armenian folk song “Dle Yaman” by the legendary duduk player Jivan Gasparyan.
In his opening remarks Mr. Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ambassador of Armenia to the USA, highlighted the choice of the concert venue, where the remains of the President Woodrow Wilson have been laid to rest. He noted that President Wilson had set the first examples of international protection of citizen’s rights and introduced the concept of self-determination and legal equality. Therefore, it was not surprising that Wilson’s humanitarian activities paved the way for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide decades later. Ambassador Nersesyan expressed his gratitude to Congressmen and Congresswomen present and to their colleagues, who voted for the resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide both in the House of the Representatives and in the Senate. “This was a tribute not only to those who perished but also to the memory of all those American officials who exerted efforts for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.” A century later, it was the sense of the deep gratitude of the Armenian people that inspired the Genocide survivors to establish the “Aurora” humanitarian initiative. Ambassador Nersesyan mentioned that Noubar Afeyan, one of the founders of the “Aurora”, was the co-chair and one of the benefactors of the Armenian Festival.
Referring to the event of the day, Ambassador Nersesyan underlined that the festival is a global message by Armenia through art and music.
Speaking about the democratic development in Armenia after the non-violent, velvet revolution, Ambassador Nersesyan noted that it gave a new impetus to the deepening and strengthening of the Armenian-American relations.
Ambassador ended his speech expressing deep gratitude to all the benefactors who made possible the Armenian Festival and the performance at the Washington National Cathedral.
Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in her speech highlighted the peculiar role of the culture in the US-Armenian diplomatic relations. Mrs Royce also underlined the existing high-level scientific and educational exchanges between the two countries.
Narek Hakhnazaryan – a world-renowned cellist, Jivan Gasparyan Jr- a well-known duduk player performed along with the Postclassical Ensemble during the concert. The music was composed for the event by famous composer Vache Sharafyan and it was accompanied by the multimedia presentation, telling the life story of the 17th century Armenian troubadour poet Sayat Nova, by an Armenian/Syrian artist Kevork Mourad.

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