In the conversation with Aravot.am, the Advisor to the Governor of Shirak, also the former Head of the Gyumri Department of Culture, Hasmik Kirakosyan, told an interesting episode of the Gyumri brass band’s post-earthquake activities. According to her, after the earthquake, in the winter of 1991, when Gyumri was completely in ruins, destroyed all around, people were uncertain and hopeless for the future, suddenly they receive an invitation from the city of Villefranche, France to attend the “Euro Brass” Festival in August. Hasmik Kirakosyan calls Chairman of City Council of the then Leninakan, Karlen Hambardzumyan, to her office and handed a letter. “Karlen Hambardzumyan told me, well, Hasmik, the letter is sent wrongly, what can we do now?… I thought and said, we perhaps would be able to attend, he asked with surprise, how?” tells Hasmik Kirakosyan.
According to her, with a group of Gyumri-admiring people she wandered door-to-door to bring the brass musicians together. “We gathered them at the Cultural House of “Textile” manufacturing factory. It was cold and frost. We are all wearing warm as much as we could and are asking to one another whom they know. One recalls the other saying, you know, this one went to Sukhumi with his family after the earthquake, the other one is in Arzni… I say, do your best to gather all the guys. Some 10-15 days later, they phone me saying, come, Ms. Kirakosyan, we are all gathered. I enter the hall and what I see is a big army gathered. Around 40-50 guys, half of whom had come empty-handed, they do not have the instrument, others with their broken instruments. I said, guys, you know, we are invited to attend the “Euro Brass” Festival in the summer, and everyone univocally uttered, we will attend, Ms. Kirakosyan. In short, this winter passed by terrible torments and suffering, but with so much love and devotion that in 2-3 months it became a music. The first music was from the opera “Anush”. Our band played “Rivers flow beneath the mountains”.
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Ms. Kirakosyan told that after the gathering they wrote a letter to the festival organizers officially confirming their participation. The latter, in turn, had asked the photos of the band members. “Naturally, if we had send our photographs with our quilted jackets, old clothes and broken instruments, we would be refuses. In such a shiny France, in the love center, such a band… No matter how well they had played, anyway, they will reject just for the appearance.” Hasmik Kirakosyan told at that time a sock factory branch was opened and a small show company on the way to Agheni. She had asked to make socks and shoes for the band guys. She had asked to tailor white costumes for the band guys, their feet size was drawn by the pencil and taken to the shoe factory. “Of course, the shoes were made approximately, they were big to one and small to the other, but they squeezed them like Cinderella and put them on, because it was a matter of honor and dignity. And our band was ready. Loris Tjeknavorian covered the travel costs,” recalls Hasmik Kirakosyan.
She also recalled that they had to play in France to have an access to the festival, and our brass band played the “Dance of Sassoon”, which was liked by the participants and the other nationalities began to stamp together with Armenians. Later on, the concert tours began and the so-called march along the streets of the city, a tour around the streets. “Suddenly, during the march we noticed that our tuba player, Arshak, has fallen behind and was unable to walk. I asked what has wrong, he said that the back of his show was torn. The guys found a wire, made a hole in the back of the shoe, tied the wire and tightened, you know how it hurts the foot, and Arshak carrying this heavy tool in his hand walking along the streets with his painful foot.” Another sad story has been recorded during the march. The drummer’s hand is bleeding because the post-earthquake instrument was so old that it hurt. He tied his hand with a handkerchief, and the Swedes walking in front of them has noticed it. In the evening, the entire staff of the Swedish band knocked at the hotel suit door and donated a drum to the Gyumri Brass Band.
“Do you know how our guys were playing? They were correcting crooked instruments; there were instruments that were left in ruins after the earthquake. Time for the award ceremony arrived. Such an brilliant bands were participating in the festival, which seems saying, sun, do not come out, our shine is enough to the world. What marching! What dance ensembles! What girls were going ahead of the bands! What luxury! What clothes!… And our modest band… There were diplomas on the table and Cups from small to big in a row, the Grand Prix, the greatest prize, was put separately. I was thinking, the Chairman of the City Council suffered so much, the city saw us off, let us at least get one of the diplomas home and tell that everyone got a diploma, so did we. Diplomas were distributed, then it came to the awards, 25 countries, the entire European elite got one, again we failed. I am saying, what a shame, we got nothing, we should we return home. And suddenly, rustling began. Jury’s announcement was heard. Prior to it, he was not talking, the presenter was speaking, the floor was given to the President of Jury, he took the Grand Prix in his hands and said, the Grand Prix goes to Armenia, Leninakan. I cannot stop my tears when talking about it, you can’t imagine what feeling I experienced, because finding shoes and socks with such a difficulty, tailor clothes, correct crooked instruments, eat less, walk along the streets, even though with torn boots, and all of a sudden, win the European Grand Prix…”
Hasmik Kirakosyan said that though Armenia by that time was not independent, but she had taken the Armenian flag with her, and the Gyumri brass band for the first time raised the tri-color flag in Europe. The Head of the brass band, Georgi Dzamukashvili, after the victory, conducted the bands of all the countries as an honor to the winning country.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
