Yar Jan Arí (Come, My Beloved): Choral and Vocal Music from Armenia

This unique program of 20th- and 21st-century Armenian choral music – sung in Armenian, Russian, English, and Ukrainian – will encompass several shorter works from the father of modern Armenian choral music, the Tbilisi- and Berlin-educated priest/composer Komitas (born Soghomon Soghomonian, 1869-1935), as well as more extended contemporary works by Edgar Hovhanissyan (1930-1998), Tigran Mansourian (1939-), Artur Avanesov (1980-), and the well-known Armenian-American composer, Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000), offering a chance to hear repertoire that is rarely encountered outside Armenia – including one North American premiere. Our performance will be led by Santa Barbara-based guest conductor and specialist in Armenian choral music, Steven Browning Thomson. The program will also feature a set of Armenian art songs, sung by UCSB graduate voice student Marta Hovhannisyan.