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armeniaitn · 4 years

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UCLA Armenian Music Program – A Year in Review

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/culture/ucla-armenian-music-program-a-year-in-review-40150-28-07-2020/

UCLA Armenian Music Program – A Year in Review

The 2019-2020 academic year was filled with new achievements and milestones for the Armenian Music Program, despite the unique set of challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic this Spring.

A notable development for the Program was the expansion of its academic branch, with two new courses that created a space at UCLA for the exploration of Armenian folk music and traditions: a graduate seminar taught by Melissa Bilal, Distinguished Research Fellow at UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies and a Lecturer in the Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Armenian Music Ensemble taught by Armen Adamian, UCLA Ethnomusicology Ph.D. student.

The Ensemble, which had its inaugural offering in the Winter Quarter, provided students and the extended community with the opportunity to learn traditional songs, dances, and instruments while sparking interest in the traditions of Armenian ethnographic heritage. Creatively coping with the constraints of the lockdown, students learned how to sing traditional Armenian songs by transcribing and conceptualizing melodic structures and lyrics in different dialects during virtual classes.

An example of creative transcription of the melody of the folk song Zulo, by Alexia Hatun.

Similarly, Armen Adamian, the instructor of the Armenian Music Ensemble, Natalie Kamajian (Culture and Performance Ph.D. student), the instructor of the dance-portion of the ensemble, and collaborator Haik Adamian created a tutorial for the folk dance Gyovnd to continue teaching dance while social distancing.

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The VEM Ensemble

While members of the Armenian Music Ensemble were exploring Armenian folk music, the new members of the VEM Quartet began their exploration of Armenian classical music, kicking off the year with outreach performances for UCLA, as well as local Armenian High school students. During the Spring quarter, VEM members continued to stay active and expand their repertoire by learning solo works by contemporary Armenian composers. The VEM Quartet collaborated to create a virtual performance of Komitas’ Kaqavik for the “Gems of Armenian Music” Fiat Lux class. Additionally, Mezzo-soprano Danielle Segen, created a few beautiful video recordings of “Oror” by Komitas, “Manushakin” by G. Chitchian, and of the ancient Armenian Tagh “Horzham”, in collaboration with pianist Victoria Simonyan of the Lark Musical Society, our Community Music Partner.

The VEM Quartet’s performance of Kaqavik for the “Gems of Armenian Music” Fiat Lux class Spring 2020

Modulation Necklace

One of the standout accomplishments of the year has been the release of Modulation Necklace, a CD of Armenian Music, by the prominent label New Focus Recordings. The album was recorded at UCLA’s state of the art recording studio and features UCLA VEM Ensemble along with internationally renowned musicians. The CD received critical praise from a variety of national and international publications, including Fanfare Magazine and Records International. “The musicianship is of the highest quality” -Fanfare Magazine “An attractive and fascinating recital of works by Armenian composers that showcases the wide variety of styles in what is evidently a vital and inventive contemporary music scene in Armenian culture.“ -Records International “Most satisfying” -Textura “Touches both the mind and the heart…This disc turns out to be full of interesting music, well written and exceptionally well-executed by all concerned. Very highly recommended!” -The Art Music Lounge “…Modulation Necklace retains relevance and interest throughout… It is a most stimulating set.” -Capplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

2020-2021 Academic Year

Looking forward to the upcoming academic year, Director of the Program, Movses Pogossian, is excited to announce that four different Armenian Music classes will be offered in 2020-2021. Introduction to Armenian Music taught by Karenn Presti, Armenian Music Ensemble taught by Armen Adamian, and Music and Intersectionality in the Mediterranean taught by Melissa Bilal (guest lecturer from the American University of Armenia), and Masters and Masterpieces of Armenian Classical Music taught by Movses Pogossian, Director of the Armenian Music Program.

Tigran Hamasyan leading a workshop with UCLA School of Music students Winter 2020

The Armenian Music Program also anticipates welcoming back the world-renowned jazz pianist, Tigran Hamasayn, during the winter and spring quarters, for a series of workshops on improvisation. Hamasayn’s new album, The Call Within, which was also recorded at UCLA, will be released this August.

With progress towards fighting the pandemic, the Program is hopeful that live performances will return and the VEM Ensemble will continue its busy outreach program, culminating with a return to Armenia in June 2021. Finally, the Program is looking forward to recording a second CD highlighting the works of contemporary Armenian composers, a “sequel” to Modulation Necklace.

VEM Quartet Outreach to AGBU Vatche & Tamar Manoukian High School Fall 2019

Armenian Music Program’s classes, concerts, tours, collaborations, and recordings have been possible thanks to the assistance and encouragement of its community partners and supporters. Members of the Program are excited to continue the performance, scholarship, and celebration of Armenian Music heritage at UCLA.

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#Armenia #Covid-19 #Culture

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armeniaitn · 4 years

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Armenian Academics For Black Lives Matter

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/politics/armenian-academics-for-black-lives-matter-28718-02-07-2020/

Armenian Academics For Black Lives Matter

A scene from a recent Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo: Armen Adamian)

Three Armenian doctoral students from UCLA—Natalie Kamajian, Armen Adamian and Lilit Ghazaryan—penned the following statement to express solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement. This initiative is intended to unite Armenian academics globally across various disciplines in their commitment to advancing anti-racist methodologies, perspectives and practices.

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We, a group of Armenian academics, want to collectively express our support for the Black Lives Matter movement. As educators and knowledge producers, we cannot be neutral in the face of systemic oppression fueled by anti-Black racism in the United States and around the world. This is a call to all Armenian academics to actively dismantle white supremacist logics in both our personal and professional lives.

In understanding our own Armenian experience, we acknowledge that historical injustices are often reproduced in present hierarchies of power. We know that the Black experience is defined by perpetual injustice rooted in chattel slavery—specifically systematic marginalization, mass incarceration, manufactured poverty, and ultimately murder. Furthermore, the United States is a settler-colonial project founded on the genocide of Indigenous nations. This legacy of stolen land and stolen labor is a foundational element of the US capitalist enterprise. The Armenian past—rife with state-sanctioned oppression, genocide, dispossession, and exile—informs our position today. In recognizing these connections, it is our ethical obligation to challenge hegemonic systems of power in all of its forms.

At this critical juncture, we are reminded of the key role played by scholarship during social justice movements. We, as Armenian academics, promise to actively fight against structural anti-Black racism. We must interrogate our role in the reproduction of white supremacy. We must take issue with our direct or indirect investments in establishments that racialize, exploit, and impoverish communities. To do this, we call on our colleagues to decenter whiteness and eurocentrism in our pedagogies and curricula, and to make concerted efforts to engage the methodologies of Black radical thinkers. We also pledge to advocate for police divestment at our respective colleges and universities, and to help reimagine new strategies for public wellness and communal safety. Lastly, we will work towards building solidarity with other scholars of color (in particular Black and Indigenous) to advance meaningful allyship.

We, the undersigned, profess a vested interest in disentangling Armenianness from the mythology of whiteness. We promise that the knowledge we produce will be radically anti-racist and will side with those who are oppressed by harmful ideologies and repressive systems of power.

Natalie Kamajian, Ph.D. student, Culture and Performance, UCLA

Armen Adamian, Ph.D. student, Ethnomusicology, UCLA

Lilit Ghazaryan, Ph.D. student, Anthropology, UCLA

Signatories as of July 2, 2020

1. Melissa Bilal, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Fellow and Lecturer, Center for Near Eastern Studies and Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA 2. Janice Okoomian, Assistant Professor of English/Gender and Women’s Studies, Rhode Island College 3. Shushan Avagyan, Assistant Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia 4. Tamar Shirinian, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 5. Hourig Attarian, Associate Professor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia 6. Karena Avedissian, Ph.D., Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham 7. Susan Pattie, Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London and former Director of the Armenian Institute in London 8. Arto Vaun, Chair, English & Communications Program, & Director, Center for Creative Writing, American University of Armenia 9. Lerna Ekmekçioğlu, Associate Professor of History and Women and Gender Studies, MIT 10. Nelli Sargsyan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Marlboro College, Vermont, USA 11. Hrayr Attarian MD, Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University Chicago, USA 12. Seta Kabranian-Melkonian, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Services, University of Alaska, Anchorage, USA 13. Markar Melkonian, Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, California State University, Northridge, USA 14. Elyse Semerdjian, Professor of History, Whitman College 15. Houri Berberian, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine 16. Sophia Armen, Ph.D. Student, Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego 17. Rosie Vartyter Aroush, Ph.D., Armenian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Research, UCLA 18. Sebouh David Aslanian, Professor of History, Richard Hovannisian Chair of Modern Armenian History, and inaugural Director of Armenian Studies Center, Promise Armenian Institute, UCLA 19. Khatchig Mouradian, Lecturer in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University 20. Sylvia Angelique Alajaji, Associate Professor of Music, Franklin & Marshall College 21. Talar Chahinian, Lecturer, Armenian Studies Program and Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine 22. Jesse Arlen, Ph.D. Candidate, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, UCLA 23. Arpi Melikyan, Ph.D. student, Department of French and Francophone Studies, UCLA 24. Meline Mesropyan, Ph.D., Fellow researcher at Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University 25. Sona Tajiryan, Ph.D. Candidate, History Department, UCLA 26. Aram Ghoogasian, Ph.D. student, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University 27. Astghik Hovhannisyan, Ph.D., Visiting Researcher at International Research Center for Japanese Studies/ Senior lecturer at Russian-Armenian University 28. Jennifer Manoukian, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA 29. Gabriella Djerrahian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University 30. Nora Lessersohn, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, University College London 31. Carina Karapetian Giorgi, Ph.D., Department Chair of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Sociology Faculty at Antelope Valley College 32. Christian Garbis, Lecturer, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia 33. Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan, Associate Professor, Political Science and International Affairs, American University of Armenia 34. Hrag Papazian, Adjunct Lecturer, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia 35. Tsolin Nalbantian, University Lecturer, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Leiden University 36. Rafik Santrosyan, Ph.D. in Linguistics, Adjunct Lecturer at the College of the Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia 37. Aram Kerovpyan, Ph.D., “Akn” Center for Modal Chant Studies, Paris 38. Anna Aleksanyan, Ph.D. Candidate, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University 39. Vahram Elagöz, Ph.D., Adjunct faculty, Acopian Center for the Environment, American University of Armenia 40. Nora Tataryan, Ph.D., Adjunct faculty, Cultural Studies, Sabanci University, Istanbul 41. Sevan Injejikian, Ph.D. Candidate, University College London (UCL), Adjunct Faculty, American University of Armenia (AUA) 42. Deanna Cachoian-Schanz, Ph.D. student, Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania 43. David Kazanjian, Professor, University of Pennsylvania 44. Karen Jallatyan, Manoogian Post-doctoral Fellow and Lecturer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 45. Joanne Nucho, Assistant Professor, Pomona College 46. Suzie Abajian, Ph.D., SPUSD School Board Member, Orange County Department of Education Administrator, former adjunct faculty at LMU and Occidental College 47. Veronika Zablotsky, Mellow-Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy, University of California, Los Angeles 48. Dzovinar Derderian, Ph.D., University of Michigan 49. Richard Antaramian, Assistant Professor of History, University of Southern California 50. Ararat Sekeryan, Ph.D. student, Slavic Languages & Comparative Literature, Columbia University 51. Michael Pifer, Ph.D., Lecturer, University of Michigan 52. Marianna Hovhannisyan, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego 53. Helen Makhdoumian, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 54. Movses Pogossian, Professor of Violin, Director, UCLA Armenian Music Program, Herb Alpert School of Music, University of California, Los Angeles 55. Lori Khatchadourian, Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University 56. Kim Hekimian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nutrition in Pediatrics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons 57. Sevan Beukian, Ph.D., Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Alberta, Canada 58. Anahit Galstyan, Ph.D. student, Department of History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara 59. Ann R. Karagozian, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Inaugural Director, The Promise Armenian Institute, UCLA 60. Hayarpi Papikyan, Ph.D., Adjunct Faculty, American University of Armenia (AUA) 61. Alexandra Boghosian, Ph.D. student, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University 62. Ayda Erbal, Lecturer, Department of Politics, New York University 63. Zoe Sherinian, Professor of Ethnomusicology, University of Oklahoma 64. Robin Garabedian, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 65. Rachel Goshgarian, Associate Professor of History, Lafayette College 66. Anahit Manoukian, Ph.D. student, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Berkeley 67. Margaret Sarkissian, Professor of Ethnomusicology, Smith College 68. Aram Goudsouzian, Professor of History, University of Memphis 69. Alique Berberian, Ph.D. student, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA 70. Arin A. Balalian, DrPH student, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University 71. Laure Astourian, Assistant Professor of French, Bentley University 72. Jolie Mandelbaum, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, University of Missouri 73. Bedross Der Matossian, Associate Professor of Modern Middle East History, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 74. Arpi Siyahian, Ph.D, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 75. Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California Los Angeles 76. Misak Khachatryan, Psy.D. Student, The Wright Institute 77. Elise Youssoufian, Ph.D. student, Philosophy and Religion, concentration in Women’s Spirituality, California Institute of Integral Studies 78. Marine Sargsyan, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Roma Tre University, Italy 79. Armine Ishkanian, Associate Professor in Social Policy and Executive Director, Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity, International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics, UK 80. Christopher Sheklian, Ph.D., Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center 81. Anna Nikoghosyan, Lecturer, Yerevan State University 82. Sossie Kasbarian, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, University of Stirling, Scotland 83. Kohar Avakian, Ph.D. candidate, American Studies, Yale University 84. Lisa Gulesserian, Preceptor on Armenian Language and Culture, Harvard University 85. Victor Agadjanian, Professor, Department of Sociology and the International Institute, UCLA 86. Arlene Voski Avakian, Professor Emeritus, Department of Women. Gender, Sexuality, University of Massachusetts Amherst 87. Christina Mehranbod, Ph.D. Student, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University 88. Artyom H. Tonoyan, Research Associate, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 89. Lilit Keshishyan, Ph.D., Lecturer, The Writing Program, University of Southern California 90. Shushan Karapetian, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California 91. Lara Tcholakian, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Management & Organization, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 92. Anahid Matossian, Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology, University of Kentucky 93. Vazken Khatchig Davidian, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford 94. Kevork Oskanian, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Birmingham 95. Kamee Abrahamian, Ph.D. Candidate in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute 96. Henry C. Theriault, Ph.D., President, International Association of Genocide Scholars, and Founding Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International 97. Marc Mamigonian, National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, Director of Academic Affairs 98. Naneh Apkarian, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, Arizona State University 99. Armen Karamanian, Ph.D., University of Technology Sydney 100. Kristin Cavoukian, Ph.D., Sessional Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto Mississauga 101. Haig Armen, MDM, Associate Professor of Design, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC 102. Ara Sanjian, Associate Professor of History and Director of Armenian Research Center, University of Michigan, Dearborn 103. Hagop Gulludjian, Ph.D., Lecturer, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California, Los Angeles 104. Lalai Manjikian, Ph.D., Professor, Humanities Department, Vanier College, Montreal, Quebec 105. Serouj Aprahamian, Ph.D. Candidate in Dance Studies, York University

For those interested in signing the statement, please complete this Google Form with your information. The Google Document will be updated manually. To view the most updated version, please click here.

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