IRAN-ARMENIA MUST BE KEPT
Lragir.am
19 April 06
The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline cannot be given to another country,
think 71 percent of the readers of Lragir.am who took part in the
poll. They answered “no” to the question if Iran-Armenia should be
transferred to another country. During the online poll, which lasted a
week, only 2 per cent voted for transferring the pipeline to another
country. 22 percent find that the pipeline could be transferred to
another country if the controlling interest belonged to Armenia. 5
percent think that transferring the pipeline would be acceptable if
it would benefit the economy.

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS ARE MERE PAPERS
Lragir.am
19 April 06
The demolition of Armenian khachkars in Nakhidjevan is cultural
genocide, announced MP Heghineh Bisharyan April 19, during the meeting
of the Commission on EU-Armenia Partnership. She mentioned that the
Armenian khachkars are part of the world cultural heritage. At the
same time Heghineh Bisharyan highly appreciated the role of the EU
and the European Parliament in the preservation of cultural values,
emphasizing the decision to send a fact-finding group of European
parliamentarians to the region. During the same meeting another
member of parliament Hranush Hakobyan announced that the European
parliamentarians should severely condemn the demolition of Armenian
cultural monuments and impose sanctions against Azerbaijan. Hranush
Hakobyan said doing nothing would inflict other similar crimes. Hranush
Hakobyan thinks that including the khachkars in the list of monuments
protected by Unesco would hardly prove effective. “The town of Ani is
one of these monuments, but the stones of the local Armenian churches
are freely removed,” stated Hranush Hakobyan. She finds that it is
impossible to return the lost monuments, and all Armenia can do is to
state facts, which means the international conventions and covenants
are mere papers, says Hranush Hakobyan.

57 SECTS REGISTERED IN ARMENIA
Lragir.am
19 April 06
On April 19 there was a meeting at the Hayeli Club to discuss the
problems of sects in Armenia. Sects have become rather active recently,
causing divide within families. The problem worries the Armenian
Apostolic Church, however the clergy refuse to discuss it with sects,
for according to father Mkhitar, “the issue of the millennium could
hardly be settled at the table of negotiations.” And the Apostolic
Church is not entitled to control the activity of sects which divide
the society. Which is the best way of struggle against sects then?
The head of the Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of the Destructive
Cult Alexander Amaryan suggests setting up an agency that would
control the activity of sects. Moreover, he says such an agency is
a requirements of the Council of Europe. Alexander Amaryan adds that
another stipulation of the Council of Europe is government sanctions
against sects which violate human rights.
Sects are funded from outside; “we are registering an organization
which is banned abroad,” says Alexander Amaryan. Presently there
are 350 thousand members of different sects in Armenia. 80 percent
are in Yerevan, they tend to grow in number in the adjacent rural
areas. Alexander Amaryan says it would take 2-5 years to convert
them back to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Father Mkhitar says it is
important to have a priest in each village to struggle sects. “Over
centuries Muslims have been unable to convert Armenians to Islam,
but in the past 10 years 10 per cent of Armenians deviated from the
Armenian Apostolic Church,” says Alexander Amaryan.

ENTREPRENEURS DISSATISFIED WITH THE BILL
Lragir.am
19 April 06
The bill on drugs introduced by the Health, Social and Environmental
Committee would help to solve the problems caused by the shortcomings
and gaps in the law in force since 1997, say the authors of the
bill. People engaged in drug business disagree. This dissent became
known during the April 19 hearing on the bill held by the committee
in the National Assembly.
The bill was passed on first reading, and the organizers of the hearing
said the hearing is aimed at further elaboration of the bill. In
the meantime, the importers of medicine shared their concerns, which
had been expressed before but were not accepted. Ghukas Ulikhanyan,
the director of Emergency Aid Ltd., it would be wrong not to allow
pharmacies sell medicines that are available on prescription only,
which is foreseen in the bill. “It means pharmacies will have 400 types
of medicine, compared with the present 2000, and will close down.”
Besides, businessmen suggest lifting the VAT on drugs. This tax is
imposed on drugs since January 2001. Academician Emil Gabrielyan
says in Georgia the VAT on drugs lasted for six months. “They saw
it had a bad effect and lifted it.” The approach is the same in all
the CIS countries. Either there is no VAT at all, or the tariff is
very small. In Armenia the VAT was imposed despite the experience of
Georgia. Member of Parliament Hranush Hakobyan, Chair of the Committee
of Education, Science and Culture, said the VAT first caused the
prices of drugs to go up, then brought a great profit to people in
the business of medicine.

ARMENIAN WOMEN BOUND FOR TURKEY THREATENED
Lragir.am
19 April 06
The Armenian prostitutes working in Turkey might be seen as
terrorists. It may happen after the Turkish parliament adopts
the law on struggle against terrorism, introduced by the Turkish
government. The Turkish government has included prostitution among
crimes defined as terrorism. It is a fact that a great number of
Armenian citizens practice this ancient profession in Turkey.

AS IT HAPPENED: THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The Advertiser (Australia)
April 19, 2006 Wednesday
State Edition
A guarantee of rape, murder or theft. This was reality for the Armenian
population in Turkey, left, during World War I – a horror that spanned
decades as the government tried to obliterate a belief system and,
with that, millions of innocent lives.

OSCE AMBASSADORS EMPHASIZE UPCOMING ELECTIONS
Lragir.am
19 April 06
On April 19 Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan met with the ambassadors of
OSCE members and representatives of international organizations to
Armenia, informs the Department of Public Relations of the National
Assembly of Armenia.
Noting that for the first time an agreement was reached among all
the political forces on the Electoral Code, the speaker of the
National Assembly presented all the major changes, informing that
the project had been extended to the Commission of Venice and the
OSCE. Answering the questions of ambassadors, Arthur Baghdasaryan
said the group of experts of the OSCE and the Commission of Venice
are visiting Armenia in June to discuss the renewed Electoral Code
and administrative problems. During the meeting advisory and technical
issues were discussed.
In their speeches U.S. Ambassador John Evans, the head of the OSCE
Yerevan Office Vladimir Pryakhin, Italian Ambassador Marco Clemente,
UN Resident Coordinator Consuelo Vidal pointed to the engagement
of proposals of international organizations in the Electoral Code,
emphasized the establishment of a legislative basis and political will
to conduct elections in 2007-2008 in compliance with international
standards, and asserted their willingness to support.
By the end of the meeting an arrangement was reached to carry on
discussions on the Electoral Code.

LIBRARIAN ACCUSED OF ‘SEXUAL HARASSMENT’ AFTER RECOMMENDING ‘MARKETING OF EVIL’
The Nutty Professors
WorldNetDaily.com ily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49809
Wednesda y, April 19, 2006
Book-banning ‘gay’ profs forced to drop allegations
After the entire faculty voted, with no dissenters, to brand their head
librarian as a sexual harasser because he recommended the bestselling
book “The Marketing of Evil” as required reading for freshmen, Ohio
State University has finally dropped its controversial charges in
the glare of national media attention.
But, warns the librarian’s attorney, who calls this one of the most
“astonishing” and “shameful” instances of campus persecution he’s
ever seen, the damage to his client’s reputation and career has been
done. They’ve already filed a complaint against three professors
for false accusations of harassment and are discussing a more
“substantial” response – including possible litigation – to “deter
any future tyranny or bullying of others.”
As WND first reported, Scott Savage, a devout Quaker, is head of
Reference and Instructional Services at the Bromfield Library on Ohio
State University’s Mansfield campus. As a member of the university’s
First Year Reading Experience Committee, Savage had suggested four
books be considered as required reading for incoming freshmen:
“The Marketing of Evil” by David Kupelian, “The Professors” by David
Horowitz, “Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis” by Bat Ye’or, and “It Takes
a Family” by Sen. Rick Santorum. Savage made the recommendations
after other committee members had suggested a series of books with
a left-wing perspective, by authors such as Jimmy Carter and Maria
Shriver.
However, three professors – two of them openly homosexual – filed
a complaint of discrimination and harassment, contending Kupelian’s
book was “hate literature” which “threatened” them and made them feel
“unsafe” on campus. After a 21-0 faculty vote (with 9 abstentions)
on March 13, the school’s Office of Human Resources put Savage under
“investigation.” The full-faculty vote was rescinded two days later
for legal reasons, and the three offended professors filed the
harassment complaint.
The professors who filed the complaint against Savage are Hannibal
Hamlin, Norman Jones and J.K. Buckley. Jones teaches courses in
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender literature, and according to
his bio, “his current research focuses on sexuality and spirituality,
particularly exploring the phenomenon of the ‘post-secular queer’
in contemporary literature.” Buckley has written “The Social Critic:
The Rise of Queer Performance Within the Demise of Transcendentalism”
as well as “articles on sexual orientation in Hemingway and Melville.”
Stepping up to defend Savage has been the Arizona-based public-interest
law firm, the Alliance Defense Fund, which on March 28 filed a “Cease
and Desist” letter to OSU Mansfield officials.
Undeterred, the university pressed on in its “investigation” of Savage,
insisting it takes “any allegation of sexual harassment seriously.”
The ADF filing linked above includes, as evidentiary exhibits,
the condemnations of Savage and Kupelian made by OSU professors in
intra-faculty e-mails March 9. The professors’ comments include:
Hannibal Hamlin: “Re Kupelian’s book, would you advocate a book
that was racist or antisemitic, or are you arguing that homosexuals
are not in the same category and that homophobia is not therefore a
matter of discrimination but of rational argument? And what are we
supposed to make of the fact that Kupelian’s Armenian family died
in the holocaust? Does this mean that he then has the right to spout
bigotry about other minorities with impunity?”
Norman Jones: “The anti-gay book Scott Savage endorses falsely claims
that ‘the widely revered father of the “sexual revolution” has been
irrefutably exposed as a full-fledged sexual psychopath who encouraged
pedophilia.’ This is a factually untrue characterization of Dr. Kinsey
and his work on every point. … I am frankly embarrassed for you,
Scott, that you would endorse this kind of homophobic tripe.”
J.K. Buckley: “As a gay man I have long ago realized that the world
is full of homophobic, hate-mongers who, of course, say that they
are not. So I am not shocked, only deeply saddened – and THREATENED –
that such mindless folks are on this great campus. … You have made
me fearful and uneasy being a gay man on this campus. I am, in fact,
notifying the OSU-M campus, and Ohio State University in general,
that I no longer feel safe doing my job. I am being harassed.”
Finally, since WorldNetDaily, Sean Hannity, MSNBC, Fox News’ Brit Hume
and dozens of bloggers and talk show hosts have brought the case to
national attention over the last few days, Ohio State University has
reportedly reversed course. That is, the Mansfield campus’s dean and
director, Evelyn B. Freeman, has now notified the faculty that the
charges have been dropped, although – strangely – neither Savage nor
his ADF attorneys have been notified of that fact.
Here’s the e-mail the faculty received from Freeman:
Dear Faculty and Staff,
The Ohio State University is strongly committed to the free, open,
and civil exchange of views as part of the educational process. To
prepare our students for success, we must have an atmosphere where
students, staff and faculty are free to express opinions and where
different points of view are not only tolerated, but welcomed. I want
to affirm President Holbrook’s April 5 message to the campus community:
“Ohio State is a caring community that rejects racism, homophobia,
gender-bias, religious intolerance and other forms of prejudice,
exclusion, and disrespect.”
It is unfortunate that conflicting viewpoints on the Mansfield campus
escalated to charges of harassment.
After a thorough investigation of complaints raised by faculty members
against a reference librarian, the University has determined that
there were no findings of harassment. However, the news media has
now picked up on this incident and you will likely be seeing some
coverage in the state and national news.
I hope we can all learn from this incident. We recognize that in the
course of robust intellectual debate in and out of the classroom,
there exists the potential for conflict. But we have to handle that
conflict responsibly and with collegiality. We will be taking a number
of steps to help create a more welcoming atmosphere on the Mansfield
campus by offering additional training for faculty and staff. We also
will work to reinforce a better understanding of the principles of
academic rights and responsibilities, and to ensure the respect for
diversity of all kinds.
Sincerely,
Evie
Evelyn B. Freeman, Dean and Director The Ohio State University at
Mansfield
So is the case over?
Not by a long shot, says David French, Savage’s attorney and director
of ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom, who says the librarian is
carefully “weighing his options.”
“Scott’s exploring litigation – he has already filed an internal
complaint accusing the professors of a false allegation of
harassment. But he is definitely exploring possibilities of
litigation,” said the ADF attorney.
“While we’re glad there was no finding of harassment – that’s merely
common sense on the part of the university – we’re upset there hasn’t
been a direct communication of that fact to Scott or his attorneys.”
Much more importantly, said French, “the damage has been done” to
Scott’s career and reputation. “Ohio State University allowed its
resources to be used in a campaign of slander and defamation.” Saying
Savage “wants to do something substantial to deter any future tyranny
or bullying of others,” French concluded: “We’re certainly glad Scott
has been exonerated, but by no means is this over.”
One consequence of the case, surely unintended by the professors
condemning Kupelian’s book as “homophobic tripe” and “hate literature,”
is that “The Marketing of Evil” has shot up the nation’s bestsellers
lists, where it currently is ranked No. 1 on Amazon.com’s “Current
Events” bestseller chart.
The reason for the massive interest in Kupelian’s book? The following
letter, one of many sent in response to the column about the case by
Rebecca Hagelin, tells the story.
I hope you can forward the information to the faculty of OSU-M
that I, for one, had not yet heard of the book, “The Marketing of
Evil.” But because of their hysteria and hypocritical intolerance, I
have decided that it is something I should definitely read. I intend
to buy a copy, and perhaps an extra to pass. In spite of themselves,
these would-be thought controllers are serving as a beacon of light,
showing the way to valuable literature!
Released in August, “The Marketing of Evil” has become one of the
nation’s most talked-about books, widely praised by Dr. Laura,
David Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, D. James Kennedy and many others
and garnering over 100 five-star reader reviews on Amazon.com.
In one final irony: “The Marketing of Evil” is readily available in
the Ohio State University bookstore.
____________
SPECIAL OFFER: Since WND Books is the publisher of David Kupelian’s
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OFFER No. 3: If you’d like to give friends and loved ones “The
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STAGES OF DISCOVERY – NEW DILIJAN CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
By Chris Pasles
Times Staff Writer
ver20apr20,0,4427443.story?coll=cl-music
April 20, 2006
Disney Hall And The Like May Get The Spotlight, But Lots Of Other
Live Arts Venues Have First-Rate Talent Too
In the mood for a concert, a play or a ballet? Think beyond Disney Hall
or the Ahmanson Theatre. The region abounds in a variety of venues,
from museums and universities to churches and mansions. It’s 7:30
p.m. and you’re hot to hear this piece for 100 electric guitars by
Glenn Branca at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Usually you can get in,
even at the last minute. But on this night it’s sold out.
Well, what about that Rachmaninoff concert the next week?
Same thing.
But if you have some flexibility, you could get your new music fix
with Vinny Golia at the REDCAT or your fill of Romantic music by the
Pasadena Symphony a few days later.
Though this very scenario played out just a few weeks ago, it’s typical
of the busy spring performing arts season here. Yes, Disney Hall,
the Ahmanson Theatre and the Orange County Performing Arts Center
tend to grab the headlines, but there is plenty of first-rate artistic
life outside their walls. The trick lies in knowing where to find it.
Southern California has a wealth of venues that consistently offer
programming of high quality — whether they are churches, museums,
universities, civic auditoriums or historic sites. Better yet, the
prices usually won’t tax your wallet.
This weekend, for instance, the young Avalon String Quartet plays at
the Doheny Mansion, pianist Christopher O’Riley plays the music of
Elliott Smith at the Getty Center, the New York-based Parsons Dance
Company appears at Cal State Northridge, the enterprising Jacaranda
chamber music series continues at the First Presbyterian Church of
Santa Monica and Southwest Chamber Music plays at the Norton Simon
Museum in Pasadena.
And that’s not a complete list by any means.
“There are, in fact, a lot of choices,” says Deborah Borda, president
of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.
“You have a truly great chamber music hall in Zipper downtown. I go
there on a regular basis. You have Royce, which is an absolute jewel.
The place I attend away from the Music Center more often than anything
else would be Royce. There’s a real advantage of having very good
halls of different sizes.”
They run the gamut from the Alex Theatre in Glendale to the Zipper
Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. And between A and Z, you can
easily find dozens of smaller, less well-known Southland venues that
regularly offer music, dance and theater events, whether as part of
their own series or as rentals.
But where to start?
Here’s a look at some of the more significant and perhaps surprising
places.
Historic sites
Ice cream came to Los Angeles in 1856. Surfing was introduced to
California at Redondo Beach in 1907. So culture palaces could not
be far behind in this relentless march of progress. In fact, some
of the Southland’s best sites date from the early decades of the
last century. Going to a performance in them today is a magnificent
reminder of our rich cultural history.
The Alex Theatre was built in 1925 as an upscale vaudeville and
movie hall, and it was renovated by the city of Glendale in 1992 as
a centerpiece of the city’s Brand Boulevard revitalization, honoring
the site’s historic importance. But there’s nothing dated about its
offerings. You could have caught the exciting modern dance troupe
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago or pianist-conductor Jeffrey Kahane and
the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in their Mozart series last year.
Another LACO concert is coming up May 20, and Burbank-based Media City
Ballet will open its fifth season with a new production of “Hansel and
Gretel” May 13 and 14. (It’s also home to the occasional TV taping.)
The Doheny Mansion opens a window on deluxe Victorian living. Built in
1899-1900 and sold in 1901 to oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny, it is now
part of Mount St. Mary’s College’s downtown L.A. campus. The resident
Da Camera Society sponsors chamber music programs under the Tiffany
glass dome of the Pompeian Room. (The society also finds attractive
venues such as the Bradbury Building and the Queen Mary for its “Music
in Historic Sites” series.) The next chance to sample the lifestyles
of the rich and famous comes Friday, with the Avalon String Quartet,
and May 12, with the Toronto-based Gryphon Trio.
An important piece of Hollywood history is the 1,200-seat Ricardo
Montalbán Theatre, a 1920s landmark previously called the Doolittle
Theatre and before that the Huntington Hartford. It got a new name
when the Ricardo Montalbán Nosostros Foundation took it over from
UCLA in 2000, looking for a venue to enhance opportunities for Latinos
in the entertainment industry. John Stothers’ musical “Pilgrim” just
finished its run. No other show has been announced, but stay tuned.
Built in 1873 as the only California opera house south of San
Francisco, the 680-seat Lobero Theatre was refurbished in 1924 as a
more versatile space. It’s now home to several Santa Barbara arts
groups, including Santa Barbara Opera and Santa Barbara Chamber
Orchestra, but it will draw a more far-flung audience this summer
when dance superstar Mikhail Baryshnikov and Hell’s Kitchen Dance
make their only Southern California appearance June 21 to 23.
Others to look for: Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, Wilshire
Ebell Theatre in L.A., Wadsworth Theatre in West L.A. and Ambassador
Auditorium in Pasadena
Religious sites
Churches and synagogues have become sanctuaries for emerging groups
that have small wallets but big ideas, including exploring new
repertory or mixing old and new in interesting ways. The sites help
remind us of the arts’ higher aspirations too.
Actor’s Co-op, based at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood,
has won six Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, including a 1996
citation for sustained achievement by a small theater. It performs in
two venues in the church: the Crossley Terrace Theatre and the Crossley
Theatre. Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” has been extended at
the Crossley Terrace through Sunday. Larry Shue’s comedy “The Nerd”
will open Friday and run through May 28 at the Crossley Theatre.
The First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica is the base for the
enterprising Jacaranda music series, founded in 2003 by Mark Hilt
(one of the church’s directors of music) and Patrick Scott. This
adventuresome group juxtaposes newer and older repertory. Next up
is a Saturday concert to honor the 50th anniversary of neo-Romantic
Romanian composer Georges Enesco’s death. His works will be played
alongside music by Ravel.
Westwood United Methodist Church is home to composer Young Riddle’s
Nimbus Ensemble, in its third season. This ensemble also juxtaposes new
and older music, but with a twist. Each program includes a “mystery”
piece identified from the stage. Sunday’s program will include works
by La Monte Young, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski and somebody else. To
find out who, you’ll have to go.
Though it recently finished its current season, the Music Guild casts
a wide net, with concerts at Sinai Temple in Westwood, Valley Beth
Shalom in Encino and (the secular) Daniel Recital Hall at Cal State
Long Beach. Founded in 1944, this presenter has a history of spotting
up-and-coming ensembles, as well as bringing in more established
artists. There’s also a smaller Sunday afternoon series at University
Synagogue in Brentwood. Catch their programs next year.
Others to look for: Concerts also pop up regularly at the Neighborhood
Church in Pasadena, Pasadena Presbyterian, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
in Newport Beach, St. Luke’s Episcopal in Long Beach, Rolling Hills
Covenant Church, St. Matthew’s in Pacific Palisades, Pacific Unitarian
Church and Temple Beth Torah in Ventura.
On campus
Colleges and universities see the arts as more than a means of
enriching their students’ educational experience. They realize they can
bridge the gap between town and gown by enticing community audiences
onto campus for performances they might not find anywhere else locally.
UCLA presents the most inclusive list through its UCLA Live series at
Royce Hall. Built in 1929 on the model of a church in Milan, Italy,
Royce is an acoustically superior site. Chinese powerhouse pianist
Yundi Li made his L.A. recital debut there last Thursday. Upcoming
events include the innovative Vancouver-based dance company the Holy
Body Tattoo on Saturday and Sunday and satirist David Sedaris on
April 28.
Cal State Fullerton opened a $48.5-million Performing Arts Center in
January, designed by the same team that created the Zipper Concert
Hall at the Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles. The centerpiece of
the new facility is the 800-seat Meng Concert Hall, where the Pacific
Symphony will play April 30 in a return to its roots. The orchestra,
which next season moves into its new Orange County home, the Renée and
Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, was born at the university 27 years ago.
Just topping 1,100 seats, the Luckman Theatre is part of the Harriet &
Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State Los Angeles. It’s home
to James Newton’s Luckman Jazz Orchestra, which just finished its
season but will return in the fall. Visiting groups include Britain’s
enterprising Phoenix Dance Theatre on April 28 and 29 and risk-taking
Montréal Danse on May 13.
Professional groups playing at the Zipper Concert Hall include
Musica Angelica, the Piano Spheres series, Camerata Pacifica, the
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s “Conversations” series and, next
up, the new Dilijan Chamber Music series with an Armenian genocide
commemoration on Friday.
Others to look for: Glorya Kaufman and Schoenberg halls at UCLA,
Beckman and Ramo auditoriums at Caltech, Bing Theater at USC, Santa
Monica College, Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont Colleges, Campbell
Hall at UCSB, Los Angeles Harbor College, the Carpenter Performing
Arts Center and Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater at Cal State Long
Beach, Laguna Beach Artists Theatre at Laguna Beach High School,
Marsee Auditorium at El Camino College and Raitt Recital Hall at
Pepperdine University.
Museums
Art museums and other institutions focus on visual or broad cultural
missions, but they often supplement their aims by hosting music or
dance events to enrich their patrons’ experiences.
The Huntington Library, established in 1919 as a research and
educational institution, has become a summer site for Southwest
Chamber Music. (It also plays concerts at the Norton Simon Museum in
Pasadena and Zipper Hall.) Its next Norton Simon concert is Saturday,
with a repeat at Zipper on Tuesday. Southwest’s summer series runs
July 7 through Aug. 26.
The famed Getty Center in Los Angeles, which houses Western art
from the Middle Ages to the present, and the Getty Villa in Pacific
Palisades, the Getty’s original home, also offer music events. The
New York Chamber Soloists will play works by Stravinsky, Milhaud,
Satie and others at the Getty Center on May 6.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is discontinuing its distinguished
serious music programs at the end of this season, but you can still
catch the amazing Italian pianist Marino Formenti in two contemporary
music programs Monday and May 1.
The Skirball Cultural Center in L.A. mainly explores 4,000 years
of Jewish culture through exhibitions, films and music, but it also
presents a modest, enterprising dance series. Next up are Japanese
movement artists Eiko and Koma with Cambodia’s Reyum Painting
Collective in “Water Colors” on Monday.
Civic auditoriums
Cities tend to reach a stage where pride needs to be expressed in
an impressive building that lets the public access the arts. Some of
the Southland’s oldest buildings reflect that pride and address the
public’s democratic range of interests.
The 3,000-seat Pasadena Civic Auditorium, built in 1931, holds
musicals, ballets, televised award shows and other events. But for
the music lover, it’s best known as the home of the Pasadena Symphony,
which will close its 78th season on May 6 when Jorge Mester conducts
works by Glinka, Prokofiev and Berlioz.
The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, owned and operated by the
city of Cerritos, opened in 1993. It offers more than 150 performances
a season, ranging from pops to opera. The center can be configured
six ways, from an 1,800-seat area theater down to a 900-seat recital
hall. Last week, Ballet NY danced parts of George Balanchine’s “Who
Cares?” and other works. As part of the theater’s José Iturbi series,
which showcases young emerging artists, baritone Quinn Kelsey will sing
works by Beethoven, Bellini and other composers on Wednesday. The
London-based Carl Rosa Company will stage “H.M.S. Pinafore” on
April 28.
Last year, you could have caught tap virtuoso Savion Glover dancing to
music by Vivaldi, Bach and Mendelssohn at the jewel-box Irvine Barclay
Theatre. This 750-seat theater was built in 1990 as a joint project
by the city of Irvine, UC Irvine and the Irvine Theatre Operating
Company. It will present its annual summer Flamenco Festival on
Aug. 4-13 and an adaptation of the Chinese classic “The Peony Pavilion”
on Sept. 22-24. The theater also serves as the site for chamber music
concerts sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Next
up on that series is pianist Krystian Zimerman on Friday.
Built in 1920, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, owned and operated by
Los Angeles County, is one of the city’s oldest performing arts sites
still in use. The 1,241-seat outdoor theater is home to a variety of
events from May through October, including Ballet Moderno y Folkorico
Nacional de Guatemala on May 27, Winifred R. Harris’ Between Lines
on June 17 and the Viver Brasil Dance Company on July 7.
Others to look for: Norris Center for Performing Arts in Palos Verdes,
Countrywide Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks and Oxnard
Performing Arts Center.
Satellites and independents
Institutions sometimes reach out to other parts of a community, as
Valencia-based CalArts did by opening REDCAT to reach a downtown L.A.
audience. Other venues exist simply on their own. Either way, they
show individual profiles in their arts offerings.
Some of the wackiest and most cutting-edge events can be found at
REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater), housed in the
same complex as Walt Disney Concert Hall. There will be a tribute
to contemporary microtonal composer Ben Johnston on May 17, and the
ensemble Partch will continue an ongoing multimedia survey of the
chamber music of maverick composer Harry Partch on May 30.
Another venue devoted to cutting-edge art is Highways Performance Space
in Santa Monica, founded by writer Linda Frye Burnham and performance
artist Tim Miller in 1989. Upcoming events include R Dance Company’s
“Freedom Dances” on April 28 to 30.
Others to look for: Ivar Theatre, Fountain Theater, Open Fist Theatre
and Unknown Theatre in Hollywood; Japan America Theatre and Nate Holden
Center for the Performing Arts in L.A.; El Portal Theatre in North
Hollywood; Electric Lodge in Venice; Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa
Monica; Madrid Theater in Canoga Park; Founders Hall at the Orange
County Performing Arts Center; and Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives.
–Boundary_(ID_xBw4N8p/o qX464cv8jRh7g)–

RA DEFENSE MINISTER: ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN MILITARY RELATIONS SHOULD CONSTANTLY DEVELOP
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.04.2006 00:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The level of the Armenian-Russian military
cooperation is very high and covers a wide scope of issues, Armenian
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan stated in an interview with “Krasnaya
Zvezda” Russian newspaper. “We should not stop at the achievement
we have made. On the contrary, we should constantly develop these
relations. We possess the appropriate legal and historical base and
wish. I hosted my Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanov in January and
we discussed the prospects of the Armenian-Russian relations,” he
remarked. “I would like to say that Armenia by no means develops the
relations with NATO at the expense of the Armenian-Russian cooperation
that expands in all directions. But we understand we should be
familiarized with the experience of other states,” the RA Defense
Minister stated. In his words, special place in the Armenian-Russian
relations is given to 102nd Russian military base that was located by
proposal of the Armenian party. “Do you remember early 1990-ies when
military units were seized in the post soviet republics or Russia
itself conveyed the property of the bases to them. At that time by
our suggestion half of the property was conveyed the Armenian party,
on the rest 50% a military base was formed. If Armenia took the
decision it was important for it,” Serge Sargsyan said.