Maestro Konstantin Petrossian has organized a virtual Christmas concert for the Armenian Museum of America featuring the Yerevan State Chamber Choir led by chief choirmaster Kristina Voskanyan and choir director William Weiner.

The Armenian Museum of America recently announced the second in a series of virtual concerts being offered online. The performance is being recorded live in Armenia by the prestigious Yerevan State Chamber Choir. The event will be aired online on Sunday, December 13 at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST and 11:00 pm in Armenia).

The show is free, open to the public, and pre-registration is not required, and the video will be made available on the Museum’s website and social media pages including Facebook. This concert series is supported by a generous grant from the Dadourian Foundation, and it is curated exclusively for the Armenian Museum audience by artistic director Maestro Konstantin Petrossian. 

“In the spirit of Christmas, we are excited to offer this concert to our members and community,” states Executive Director Jason Sohigian. “We wish this event could be performed live at the Museum, but the next best thing is to offer it virtually so we can all stay safe, stay healthy, and stay connected in the comfort of our homes. This has the added benefit of making the concert available to everyone in the community nationally and internationally.”

The Armenian Museum of America has expanded its offerings of virtual events in 2020, while the galleries are temporarily closed to comply with COVID-19 regulations. In addition to the concert series, online programs include a weekly “show and tell” video about an object from its collection by Curator Gary Lind-Sinanian and a newly launched virtual exhibition series. The first virtual exhibition in December will feature a selection of vintage, authentic rugs made in Artsakh from the Museum’s own collection. 

“While the Armenian community, including all of us at the Museum, have been occupied with assisting in the aftermath of the Artsakh War and dealing with the humanitarian, human rights, and cultural heritage issues, we want to pause for a moment to celebrate our culture and the Christmas season,” adds Sohigian. “We are proud to extend the invitation to the Yerevan State Chamber Choir in Armenia to record this concert. It’s another way that the Museum can participate in supporting institutions and organizations in Armenia during these challenging times.” 

The Yerevan State Chamber Choir was founded by the late Maestro Harutyun Topikyan. This concert will be recorded in Armenia exclusively for the Armenian Museum and it will be led by chief choirmaster Kristina Voskanyan and choir director William Weiner.

The Choir was founded in 1996 under the patronage of the late Catholicos Karekin I with the mission to perform the entire choral heritage of Komitas. Their repertoire includes works by brilliant masters of choral music including Edgar Hovhannisyan, Edvard Mirzoyan, Tigran Mansuryan, Alexander Harutyunyan, and Robert Amirkhanyan, as well as Western European composers. 

One of their notable collaborations was in 2015 with the young pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan, when they performed “Luys I Luso” (Light from the Light) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. They recorded an album of sacred religious music by Mesrop Mashtots, Grigor Narekatsi, and Anania Shirakatsi and toured together to perform these works throughout Europe.

The program for the Museum concert will include songs by Komitas, “Tiramayr” by Maestro Konstantin Petrossian, and Christmas classics including “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Deck the Halls,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

The link to this free concert will be available on the Museum’s website www.armenianmuseum.org, its YouTube channel, and Facebook page. Updates and reminders will also be posted on the Facebook event page: www.tinyurl.com/liveatmuseum.

The Armenian Museum of America is the largest Armenian Museum in the Diaspora. It has grown into a major repository for all forms of Armenian material culture that illustrate the creative endeavors of the Armenian people over the centuries. Today, the Museum’s collections hold more than 25,000 artifacts including 5,000 ancient and medieval Armenian coins, 1,000 stamps and maps, 30,000 books, 3,000 textiles and 180 Armenian inscribed rugs, and an extensive collection of Urartian and religious artifacts, ceramics, medieval illuminations, and various other objects. The collection includes historically significant objects, including five of the 15 Armenian Bibles printed in Amsterdam in 1666.