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Thursday, June 2, 2005
GOSPEL ARTIST GIVEN STANDING OVATION BY PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA
His Song About Armenian Genocide Has Been Translated Into 17 Languages,
Proclaims Gospel and Brings Healing To Armenian People
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
YEREVAN, ARMENIA (ANS) — Christian musician Daniel Decker just returned
from Armenia, where he proclaimed the Gospel and brought God’s healing
through his song “Adana,” and received a standing ovation from that
country’s President. (Pictured: Puerto-Rica born Christian Artist Daniel
Decker received a standing ovation form Armenia’s President at a recent
nationally-televised concert).
Decker sang “Adana,” to a standing ovation at a nationally televised concert
commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide — an event
in which 1.5 million Christians were slaughtered by Muslim Turkish soldiers
of the Ottoman Empire during WWI because they would not renounce their faith
in Christ.
Upon the official invitation of the Armenian Government, U.S. Christian
musician Daniel Decker just returned from Yerevan, the capitol of Armenia,
where he boldly declaring the Gospel through the lyrics of Adana which tell
the tragic story of the genocide.
With every family having lost a member to the genocide, Decker is bringing
God’s healing and restoration to the Armenian people over the event, which
is still not recognized by some countries.
Accompanied by the Armenian Opera Orchestra, Decker performed Adana at the
Memorial Concert at the Opera and Ballet Academic Theatre on April 23, 2005.
As Decker’s voice choked with emotion, many in the capacity crowd had tears
in their eyes as he sang, including an Armenian Cabinet Member. Upon
finishing his performance, Decker received a standing ovation from the
audience, which included the President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, and the
head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, His Holiness Karekin II.
ADANA TRANSLATED INTO 17 LANGUAGES
Decker’s moving lyrics to Adana have so deeply resonated with people around
the world that the song has been translated into 17 different languages,
providing him an opportunity to reach people for Christ and touch hearts
around the world, according to information from his publicist.
Decker, a man of strong faith in Jesus Christ, says the story of the
Armenian Genocide is close to his heart.
“This is an event that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenian Christians
during World War I because they would not renounce their faith,” he says.
“So I’m really singing about the loss of my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
“Ruthlessly they came, with one deadly aim
Kill all who believed in Jesus’ name”
“As they knelt before the warrior’s blade — singing
To the great I AM, worthy is the Lamb
To Him who sits upon the throne we bow before You
Holy is the One, God’s Almighty Son
Glory to the Christ, Our risen King”
(Lyric excerpts from Adana)
Adana is a collaboration between Decker who wrote the song’s powerful
lyrics, and Ara Gevorgian, one of Armenia’s premier composers. When Decker
first heard Gevorgian’s composition, he felt it was perfect to tell the
story of the Armenian Genocide, an issue that moved him deeply.
“Daniel has done a great thing for the people of Armenia,” says Gevorgian.
MILLIONS HEAR THE GOSPEL
Through Adana, the Gospel has been heard by millions of people across
Armenia, a former Eastern block country only recently unchained from more
than 70 years of Communist rule.
Visiting foreign dignitaries already hear Adana whenever they visit the
Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, an official government building where the song
is played. Now, the national television broadcast has transformed Adana into
an immediate popular hit that has been repeatedly featured on Armenian radio
and television.
One newspaper reporter who interviewed Decker thanked him for the song, as
she had personally lost family to the genocide in the city of Adana, the
name of the city in present-day Turkey where one of the first massacres took
place.
Another Armenian woman who had seen Decker’s performance on television
quickly ran to the duty-free shop upon seeing him at the airport, to
purchase and present him a gift to thank him for bringing greater
international awareness to the genocide.
While Decker’s popularity in Armenia has grown exponentially since his
performance of Adana on national television, he has been a media darling
since he and Gevorgian first collaborated in 2002 on “Noah’s Prayer,” a song
the composer had written for Armenia’s National Independence Day.
Decker performed “Noah’s Prayer,” which chronicles the spiritual journey of
Noah on the ark, live during a nationally televised outdoor concert
accompanied by the Armenian Opera Orchestra, with Mt. Ararat looming in the
background.
POLITICALLY SIGNIFICANT
The Armenian Government’s invitation of Daniel Decker, who is a U.S.
citizen, to commemorate the genocide, is extremely politically significant
on an international level.
Despite massive historical evidence for the event, modern-day Turkey refuses
to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which
include starvation, rape, and torture.
Sadly, while many countries such as France have recognized the genocide, the
U.S. has not formally recognized the genocide yet either, probably because
Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, is an American ally, particularly in
the war on terror.
ABOUT DANIEL DECKER
Decker is a New York native with Puerto Rican heritage, and his wife is from
Armenia. In addition to his music ministry, Daniel Decker has been working
with relief organizations in Armenia to bring aid to the poorest regions and
to those that have been hit the hardest, children and the elderly.
(Pictured: CD My Offering cover).
Both Adana and Noah’s Prayer can be found on Decker’s latest CD entitled,
“My Offering.” Along with his unique piano stylings, the CD is a rich fusion
of world music influences with Flamenco guitars, Armenian duduk, Brazilian
samba, Latin jazz, and special performances by the Armenian Philharmonic
Orchestra.
The CD “My Offering” reflects his love and appreciation of the many cultures
he has experienced, and is bringing healing and restoration to all who hear
his music.
For more information, please visit or contact his
publicist Anne Sharp at (818) 994-2309.
________________________________________
Sharp Concepts PR
Anne P. Sharp
President
email: [email protected]
phone: 818-994-2309
Sharp Concepts, 6931 Tyrone Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91405
________________________________________
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A
former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent
for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, CA. Michael immigrated to the
United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in Sept., 1995. He is married
with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB
Europe, a British Christian radio station.
________________________________________
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
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