Proceeds from Montreal Charity Concert to Support Musical Programs for Children in Armenia’s Regions

As part of the “Music Cycles” concert series, a charity concert titled “From Yerevan to Montreal” by the Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM, conducted by Boris Brott) was presented via live stream on March 9. Renowned Montreal-based soprano Aline Kutan participated in the event. The concert was held under the patronage of Anahit Harutyunyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Canada. The primary goal of the concert was to use audience donations to help fund musical programs for children implemented by the Atken Armenian Foundation in the regions of Armenia. Works by Aram Khachaturian, Gevorg Andonian (a contemporary Canadian-Armenian composer), and Armen Tigranian were performed. Notably, Gevorg Andonian’s musical pieces “Lament” and “Renaissance,” dedicated to the brave individuals who participated in the defense of the Republic of Artsakh, were premiered during the concert. The event concluded with excerpts from the opera “Anoush.” Aline Kutan briefly presented the love story of Anoush and Saro, comparing it to other famous operatic works such as Romeo and Juliet or Tosca. She added that the opera “Anoush” also deserves international recognition. Interestingly, Aline Kutan previously performed the role of Anoush at the Michigan Opera Theatre in 2001 (conducted by Raffi Armenian), as well as at the A. Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Yerevan in 2008. Generally, as noted by the head of the foundation, Van Armenian, cooperation with Aline Kutan is of great significance to the foundation. In the summer of 2019, the famous soprano was invited to Armenia to teach and pass on her professional skills to the students of the vocal department of the “Zartonk” International Music Academy, organized by the Atken Armenian Foundation. According to the organizers, the “From Yerevan to Montreal” concert can also be viewed via online broadcast. It is available until March 23 of this year. In this way, concert participants can join the charitable initiative aimed at Armenia’s younger generation. For further details, please visit https://bit.ly/ticketingfromyerevantomtl.

Liana Khoshbekyan, volunteer correspondent for “spyurk.info”