BAYSIDE, N.Y. – On Thursday, February 11, the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs commemorated Vartanantz Day, the day when all Armenians around the world honor and remember General Vartan Mamigonian and his heroic soldiers who perished in the Battle of Avarayr. Although these noble men died in the battle, their true victory was in the preservation of Christianity and the Armenian identity. On this occasion, Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, the pastor of Holy Martyrs, celebrated Badarak in the morning and prayed for the souls of these Armenian heroes. In the evening, a special Vartanantz Day concert was held live on Facebook to honor the Armenian soldiers from another battle, the Artsakh War. The concert, which featured the talents of Holy Martyrs students from the Language School and Day School and musical performances from parishioners, helped raise funds for the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund. The program, narrated live by Fr. Abraham, was the beautiful vision of Holy Martyrs’ church organist Nevart Zeronian Dadourian. The performances, prerecorded from the homes of the performers, were weaved together by the artistic direction of Nevart and the technological prowess of Alex Vartanian.
Special thanks to all the talented performers: Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan (vocal, Norahrash Busagavor, Vartanantz Day sharagan), HMALS students (prepandemic hantes recordings), Nevart Zeronian Dadourian (piano, Melody by Arno Babajanian), HMADS students (recitations), Armen Malkhasyan (vocal, Dasnerek Ardzeevner by Ashough Arentzi), Evelina Malkhasyan (recitation, Dzon Surpotz Vartanantz by Felekian), Maral Mouradian Jamgochian (piano, Elegy by Arno Babajanian), Isabelle Sirounian (vocal, Chinar Es by Gomidas), Karen Ajamian Smaldone (piano, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy), Nargiz Mkrtchyan Dumanyan (vocal, Gyankeed Knov by Kristine Pepelyan), Jemma Khachatryan (piano, Ave Maria by Johann Sebastian Bach / Charles Gounod), Diana Vasilyan (violin, Adana by Ara Gevorgyan), and Karina Vartanian (vocal, Yerevan Erebuni by Edgar Hovhanessian) accompanied by Nevart Zeronian Dadourian (piano).
The beautiful and moving performances helped raise over $2500 (at the time of printing) for the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund. To watch the recording of the concert and to make a donation, please visit the Holy Martyrs Facebook page for Thursday, February 11. For more information about the Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund, visit ArmenianWoundedHeroes.com. Thank you to all the donors for their generous support of our wounded heroes!
Lynn T. Cetin MD
