On April 5, the AGBU Performing Arts Department (PAD)-in collaboration with D’LAYL Productions and the Armenian Student Association at Columbia University-hosted a concert with the Armenian ethno-jazz group Miqayel Voskanyan & Friends at DROM in New York. The sold-out event drew hundreds of attendees who eagerly awaited the return of the band since their last concert in 2014 during the Made In NY Jazz Competition.
The group’s leader, tar player and singer Miqayel Voskanyan was joined by Arman Peshtmaljian on the keyboard, Gurgen Ghazaryan on the bass and Movses Ghazaryan on the drums, as well as special guest Sevana Tchakerian, from the Paris-based group Collectif Medz Bazar, on vocals and accordion.
The show fulfilled one of PAD’s main goals-to introduce Armenian arts to a diverse audience-as it drew many non-diaspora jazz aficionados. The online newspaper New York Music Daily covered the concert, writing: “Armenia is small, about the same size as Jamaica. Like reggae, Armenian music has a vast, global influence: Voskanyan’s compositions reflect that scope.”
AGBU PAD director Hayk Arsenyan also remarked that “The fact that Miqayel Voskanyan & Friends incorporates the tar, a traditional Armenian instrument, and well known folk melodies in a jazz format promotes both the instrument and our music and shows how versatile they can be. AGBU PAD, in collaboration with other AGBU chapters and Young Professionals (YP) groups, is proud to showcase their talents to diverse audiences in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Paris-cities that not only have large Armenian communities but are also immensely multicultural.”
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For more information on the AGBU Performing Arts Department, please visit https://www.agbuperformingarts.org/.
Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world’s largest non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians around the world.
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit www.agbu.org.