On the surface, Haig Aram Hovsepian is like most 13-year-old adolescents. He enjoys video games and other electronic gadgets, U-tube, even beat-boxing, break dancing, swimming lessons and music.
What separates him from the pack is the violin, when it could very easily have been saxophone, clarinet or the piano. He’s adept at all four, joined by the Armenian recorder (sh’vi) before making his choice.
The sh’vi?
“I took lessons for two years with a great teacher who came here from Armenia,” he recalls. “It was an opportunity to play our traditional music on an ethnic instrument. This experience created more interest in Armenian music which has now become an important part of my violin repertoire.”
As for the sax, that medium gives him a jazz element which also complements the classical. He listens to jazz and improvises. Add it up and you have one boy with five instruments.
Had you been at the State House last April for the Armenian Genocide commemoration, you would have seen a pre-teen stand before a packed house with his instrument in hand, performing like a true virtuoso before an audience holding its applause.
On hand were senators and congressmen, legislators and other political pundits. Friends. Family. Total strangers. And four genocide survivors who appeared quite moved by it all.
No sheet music or prompting. No obvious butterflies or kinks in his repertoire. No artifice in his presence. In vernacular terms, he “nailed” it.
About his stellar performance that day, he had this to say:
“I was trusted to represent our cultural heritage in front of a very large audience of Armenians and non-Armenians with merely one piece — and it had to be done well. The sense of responsibility was overwhelming but I was inspired by the thought that this was a tribute to those who perished and those who survived. I felt proud to carry the torch of the past and celebrate the present.”
Haig has a dream, one that may have been far-fetched some years back but more realistic these days. He’d like to become a professional violinist and perform in the symphony. To reach that level, he’ll continue playing at schools and nursing homes.
The ultimate, he feels, would be taking his instrument to Armenia and play before the majestic Mount Ararat.
“To paraphrase William Saroyan’s words,” he says, “we can always create a new Mount Ararat anywhere in the world so long as we keep up our hard work. Our nation has produced many great musicians and artists. I’m proud to be an apprentice, hoping to become one of them someday. All the sorrow and suffering our nation has witnessed reveals itself in music with more passion and depth.”
In such a short time, Haig has built up an impressive resume. He’s been studying violin since the age of 4. In 2009, he received his first competitive award at the Massachusetts Music Teachers’ Association. On April 24, 2010 — Armenian Martyrs’ Day — he won the Gold Medal at a classical music competition in Canada.
Two months later, he was honored again as winner of the Young Promise International Competition.
In addition to performing extensively at various community and charitable events, Haig has appeared as a soloist with the Belmont All-Town Elementary Chorus and participated in a Belmont Telethon to raise funds for the town’s food pantry.
He’s a former member of the Abaka Dance Group, St. Stephen’s Armenian Saturday School and a first prize winner in the Armenian Relief Society’s annual essay contest.
As biased as this may sound, his favorite violinist is not the noted contemporary Joshua Bell but his own grandmother, Anahit Tsitsikian, and a remote cousin, Sergey Khachatryan.
“I often listen to other violinists on You-tube,” he reveals. “Two of my favorites are the old masters Arthur Grumiaux, a Belgian, and the Polish-born Isaac Stern. When I play, I often feel like a different person than going to school or hanging out with friends. Sometimes, it relaxes and excites me. Other times, I feel like I’m in the process of discovering something wonderful. In my ‘violin’ time, nothing is the same as ‘real’ time.”
His early success has not come without a price. Hours of personal sacrifice and rehearsal have certainly proven advantageous. The private lessons and expense are on-going rituals.
Any free time after school is tied up with his music, whether it’s the lessons or his school’s “coolest jazz band around.” Last year the ensemble won a platinum award at Districts (better than gold).
He has a management team in place, joined by his mom Ani, a talented keyboard artist-teacher, and Jirair, whose photography and video work carry their own merit. Last we heard, the youngster’s calendar is rather crowded with dates.
On Saturday, December 8, he and Ani presented a mother-son concert for the Merrimack Valley community at St. Gregory Church in North Andover. It’s all becoming fairly routine for the young star.
“My parents check the calendars for any possible conflicts and off we go,” he says. “It’s a great experience to play for various types of events and audiences. I learn a lot from that.”
The Armenian Reporter
