BY JASMINE SEYMOUR
The “British Armenian,” a charity organization, held two benefit concerts for Armenia in June under the auspices of the Embassy of Armenia in the United Kingdom. The main performer at these exclusive events was renowned cellist Sevak Avanesyan from Belgium, who joined forces with UK-based musicians to perform European and Armenian classical masterpieces.
For several months already, Sevak Avanesyan has been raising money for Kapan Music Hall in Armenia, where musical icons Aram Khachaturian, Arno Babajanian, and Valery Gergiev performed in the 1970s and 1980s.The Hall had been neglected since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but has recently undergone major refurbishment. Part of the proceeds from the concerts will be donated to Avanesyan’s fundraiser to purchase a world-class grand piano and to transport it from Vienna to Armenia’s Syunik region. The first Kapan International Music Festival—organized by Avanesyan with the support of the local government—will take place from July 4 to 14. Over 30 musicians, covering all genres of music across the world, will perform and give masterclasses and workshops to young musicians.
Renowned cellist Sevak Avanesyan (center left), with his family and guests at the charity concert in Manchester, UK The audience a the charity concert in Manchester, UK
The Manchester charity concert was held on Saturday, June 24 at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church. Erected in 1870, Holy Trinity is the oldest Armenian Church in the British Isles. The Armenian Church opened its doors on Saturday evening and hosted a pre-show wine and food reception for the audience, who came from Wales, Birmingham, North of England and Scotland. Two representatives of the Armenian Embassy were in attendance, including First Secretary Vrezh Kardumyan who delivered welcoming remarks.
The concert opened with a performance of Telemann’s lyrical “Fantasia 2” by 24-year-old oboist Jack Muradian, a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He was followed by 21-year-old musical sensation, violinist Polina Sharafyan who performed two pieces: “Tsirani Tsar” by Komitas and the celebrated violin solo “Chaconne” by Bach. Unsurprisingly, Polina is the recipient of a full scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with maestro Levon Chilingirian. Afterwards, Polina shared the stage with Avanesyan and the two performed Handel/Halvorsen’s “Passacaglia ‘The Impossible Duet for Violin and Cello’” (arrangement of 1893) to the audience’s great delight.
Composer and pianist Vrezh Khachatryan performed Aram Khachaturian’s exuberant and technically demanding “Toccata.” Khachaturian graduated the renowned Royal Northern College of Music with a Master of Music in Performance.
The final performance in Manchester came from Avanesyan, who played Bach’s “Cello suite no 5,” and “Krunk” by Komitas. Avanesyan had previously played “Krunk” in the ruins of the Shushi’s Surp Ghazanchetzotz Cathedral after it was bombed by Azerbajiani forces in October 2020. His video recording from the ruins of the cathedral in Shushi went viral worldwide.
Two days later, on Monday, June 26, the second charity concert was held in the heart of London, at Kensington’s Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church. The 300-seat church was filled with music lovers and supporters of Armenia of all nationalities. Monsignor James Curry generously offered the space and welcomed guests free of charge. In attendance were councillors and Members of Parliament, Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea Preety Hudd, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the UK and Ireland Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, as well as several Armenian community leaders.
Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea, Preety Hudd, with performers and organizers of the charity concert for Armenia Monsignor James Curry addressing attendees at the charity concert in London
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Varuzhan Nersesyan emphasized the importance of reviving the cultural life in Syunik, supporting the community in the region, and giving them hope to stay in this strategically important region connecting Armenia to the outside world.
Following the success of their Manchester performance, Avanesyan opened the second concert with Sharafyan and the duo once again performed Handel/Halvorsen’s “Passacaglia.”
Renowned British-Armenian violinist Ani Batikian enchanted the audience with her performances of Elgar’s “Romance for Violin and Piano,” and Khachaturian’s “Adagio” and “Bacchanal” from Spartacus. These two famed compositions were executed beautifully, and were the perfect choice for the occasion.
Guests were impressed by the performance of soprano Narine Malkhasyan, well-known to the community as the wife of the current Armenian Ambassador in the UK. Malkhasyan interpreted Schubert’s “Ave Maria” and the uplifting aria “Voi che sapete” from “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart with elegance and poise. Malkhasyan, apart from her numerous official engagements, has been actively involved in the Armenian community’s music world and has become a patron of cultural events.
Alexander Aroutiunian’s “Improptu for Piano and Cello” was performed by Avanesyan and Marianna Abrahamyan, and seemed to be a hard act to follow. Meanwhile, soprano Hasmik Harutyunyan from the National Opera Studio, managed to seduce the audience with her sublime interpretations of “Oror” (Lullaby) by Komitas. She continued her recital with “Donde leta usci” from Puccini’s opera “La Bohéme,” transferring the emotions of heart-broken heroine Mimi to her London audience. For her final piece, Harutyunyan was joined by Avanesyan and pianist Abrahamyan to perform Massenet’s lyrical “Elégie.”
One of the highlights of the London concert was Arno Babajanian’s challenging trio for violin, piano and cello. With merely a few hours of rehearsal, the talented musicians delivered this extremely complex and vivacious composition with gusto. In the first part, Allegro, the trio showed their masterly skills of ensemble-playing, as in the second part, Andante, Ani Batikian once again proved herself as a deeply lyrical violinist. Meanwhile, during the third part, Allegro Vivace, the musicians did justice to Babajanian’s glorious masterpiece. Composed in 1952, Babajanian’s 23-minute piece was the perfect ending to a jubilant musical night. It must be stressed the rare musicality of Abrahamyan—pianist and PhD candidate at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland—who performed alongside all of the musicians without the slightest fatigue.
At the end of the evening, Hasmik Seymour, the Chair of the British Armenian group, thanked the audience and the dignitaries for their support, as well as the wonderful musicians for performing free for the charity event.
The audience applauding the performers at the charity concert in London, UK
The British Armenian is a non-funded, non-political, independent group formed in 2020, following Azerbaijan’s military aggression against the indigenous Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 2020, the group has been campaigning to raise awareness about war crimes perpetrated by Azerbaijan, and, in the last six months, raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis that the Armenians of Artsakh are facing as a result of the Lachin Corridor blockade. The British Armenian has been actively campaigning for the release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages since December 2020, working with the families of hostages in Armenia and the diaspora.
A portion of the profits fundraised during the UK charity concerts will be allocated to the British Armenian’s ongoing campaign, as well as for future events.
The incredible feedback from the audiences of the charity concerts have been humbling and exciting. We anticipate that such well-organized, charitable events will become more routine. In the meantime, there is some good news from Yerevan: the Steinway grand piano has arrived and will not only uplift local musicians, but revitalize the musical life in the Syunik region.
Jasmine Seymour is an activist who established the British Armenian Group, which focuses on campaigning for the release of Armenian prisoners of war currently being held captive in Azerbaijan. The organization has been circulating a petition on change.org and is urging the public to sign the plea to release Armenian POWs.