2005_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 2005

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Hye Sharzhoom
October 2005
Conquering One Heart at a Time Through Jazz
Armen Nalbandian
Zhanna Bagdasarov
Editor
What do the words Jazz,Fresno
Art Museum and Thursday have in
common? Well, if you enjoy great
music and are willing to put the
mundane aspects of your life on
hold once in a while, then a night of
real Jazz music at the Fresno Art
Museum is just what you need,
every last Thursday of the month,
except in November.
Armen Nalbandian, the man we
have to thank for this monthly treat,
is truly someone you must experience performing live. Nalbandian
is linked to the Fresno Art Museum
through his position as the Musical
Director/Resident Artist. You
might be wondering how a Jazz
performer ended up on the
museum's stage, especially since a
venue such as this is not the most
common place to indulge in genuine Jazz. The Jazz Program at the
museum actually exists due to the
exhaustive efforts of Nalbandian.
His desire for a place to perform on
a regular basis sparked this idea.
Nalbandian believes that the
Museum is the perfect place to allow one's artistic side some much-
deserved pampering. It is here that
you are able to witness Nalbandian
at his greatest on the piano. It
doesn't take long to realize
Nalbandian's dedication and seriousness when it comes to his music. It is truly admirable to see a
musician committed to educating
his listeners and exhibiting an undeniable passion for his work.
If that'snot enough, Nalbandian
is responsible for composing full
concerts inspired by the work of
the exhibiting artists; he incorporates elements of Jazz music and
artworks that influenced him to create a unique expression of his individuality . According to Nalbandian,
last season was very prolific for
him; he produced over a hundred
compositions for the art and that
does not include the music he wrote
with an Armenian motif. He composed over thirty compositions inspired by traditional Armenian
music, which he hopes to perform
in the near future.
During the month of September, Nalbandian and his fellow
musicians held a charity concert to
benefit the victims of Hurricane
Katrina. This event raised almost
$3,000 to help those in need due to
the natural disaster. This is just one
example of how one man's love for
music can inspire an act of pure
selflessness. His community efforts do not end here. Nalbandian
makes it a point to involve himself
in multicultural events; he performs
in clinics, retirement communities
and donates proceeds from his benefit concerts to support the American Cancer Federation and "Relay
For Life."
On the evening of September
29, Nalbandian, along with his
Quintet, began his second season
of performing his original works at
the Fresno Art Museum. The concert, cleverly called "Rhythms of
Art," was the first in the series of
entertaining evenings to come. That
night, Nalbandian was joined on
stage by Larry Honda on the woodwinds, Joe Lewis on the cornet,
Kevin Hill on the bass, and Brian
Hamada on the drums. The compositions he wrote and performed
were influenced by the visual art of
Junko Chodos, which Nalbandian
was influenced by and thus wished
to convey to his listeners. He definitely succeeded in producing an
appreciative response from his audience and allowed every person in
the concert hall the opportunity to
interpret his compositions on different levels.
Armen Nalbandian' s stage presence is another thing one should
observe when he is in his element.
His ease and refreshing sense of
humor certainly helps the listener
enter a comfort zone that allows
one to truly enjoy the music. With
all these aspects accounted for, one
is able to forget about the daily
hassles and disappointments and
concentrate on the pleasurable experience.
When asked what he hopes to
accomplish with the new, second
season of concerts atthe Fresno Art
Museum,Nalbandian said,"! would
like Jaz2 to play a larger role in our
community and to give the community access to what we do." The
upcoming "Rhythms of Art" concert will take place on October 27,
2005 and if the aforementioned
commentary intrigued your artistic
side, do come out and join Armen
Nalbandian and his Quintet in their
celebration of life!
For more information about concert dates go to
www.armennalbandian.com.
Mardirossian, From Page 1
Mardirossian has performed in
Austria, Canada, England, France,
Germany, Greece, Russia, Spain,
and the United States, and he has
been regularly invited to appear
with orchestras including the Armenian Philharmonic, the Cannes
Orchestra, the Yerevan Chamber
Orchestra, the Orchestre International de Paris, and the Orchestre
du Conservatoire de Paris.
He has collaborated with his
friend, composer Tanguy.
Mardirossian's April 2001 recital
was reviewed by the newspaper Le
Monde, which headed the article
"Pianiste Phenomenal!" He has
made recording of works by
Brahms, Handel, and Schubert, for
the Intrada label. He has also made
li ve recordings devoted to J .S. B ach
and Eric Tanguy for the TransArt
Live Label.
Vahan Mardirossian started his
performance with Frederic
Chopin' s "Ballade in G Minor, Op.
23," which gave the audience a
perfect overview of what to expect
from the concert. Mardirossian
showed the audience his mastery
ofthe piano by playing such a dynamic piece with incredible precision , emotion, and beauty. He then
performed Chopin's "Ballade in F
Major, Op. 38," Brahm's "Rhapsody in B Minor, Op .7 9 No.l" and
"Rhapsody in G Minor, Op.79
No .2," and Eric Tanguy's
"Passacaglia." These pieces further displayed Mardirossian's ability to play the rapid and thunderous
passages with unrelenting intensity, while being able to play the
more calm and elegant passages
gracefully.
The second half of the concert
included Robert Schumann's
"Kreisleriana, Op. 16" and Frederic
Chopin's "Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op.53." The rather lengthy
"Kreisleriana, Op. 16" was full of
changes in tempos and dynamics,
and again showed Mardirossian's
immense control over the piano.
After the last piece, the much-deserved applause encouraged
Mardirossian to play two encores.
The first was one of Chopin's Nocturnes from Op .2, followed by
Khachaturian's "Tocatta."
Mardirossian played very passionately throughout the performance, humbly smiling and bowing after each piece. At the end of
the concert, some of the audience
described it as "amazing," "powerful yet elegant," "no nonsense and
straight to the point" and "incredibly precise as well as emotional."
They appeared to be more than
satisfied.
2005-2006 ASO Executive
L. to R.: Seated, Grigor Kyutunyan, Suzie Pogosyan, Armine
Sargsyan. Standing: Guyane Frnzyan, Kristina Pogosyan.
The new 2005-2006 Armenian
Students Organization executive members were asked their
views on a few questions.
Question 1: What do you hope
to contribute to the ASO this
year by being on the executive
committee?
Question 2: What do you see
happening for the AS O this year ?
Question 3: How do you hope to
increase the membership and do
you have expectations from your
current or new members?
Question 4: What do you hope
to gain from being an executive
officer?
Question 5: What is the one
thing you would like for members to know about you?
Kristina Pogosyan-President
Major: Criminology; emphasis in victimology
Junior
Career aspirations: I hope to
graduate next year and go to law
school in the Los Angeles area. I
would like to attend Loyola Law
School or Pepperdine University School of Law. Once I finish
law school, I plan on becoming a
real estate or family attorney.
1. As president I hope to unite
old and new members together
and to make this year one of the
best years the Armenian Students
Organization has ever had.
2. We have planned many exciting fundraising events. We're arranging a Halloween party and
we're planning on taking a trip to
one of the beaches in the Los
Angeles area to have a bonfire
with some ofthe other Armenian
Students Organizations. We
would like to end the year with
an exciting event. We are planning
a winter formal or a Christmas party.
As far as fundraising, we are planning a charity event to raise money
for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
We also would like to support some
of the impoverished communities
in Armenia and have a canned food
drive for the Poverello House for
the Thanksgiving holiday.
3. As far as increasing membership, we are trying to introduce our
organization to the Armenian students at Fresno State. We have also
passed out fliers in the Free Speech
area and use word of mouth to get
more members to join. I expect
members to go out there and let
their friends know about our organization, because I feel that it is the
best way to attract new members.
4. As an executive officer, I hope to
make many memories, make lifelong friends, and gain career experience that I can use in the future.
5.1 would like to letmembers know
that I am a very friendly person and
if they have any questions or concerns about anything, I wouldgladly
help them out in any way.
Guyane Frnzyan-Vice President
Major: Business
Sophomore
Career aspirations: Running/
Owning my own company
1. As ASO Vice President my ambition is to unite all my fellow Armenians. Like they say, "If you're
a true Hye, you'll never say vigh,
vigh!"
2. To my knowledge we have a
very strong and dedicated executive, who have new, creative, and
exhilarating ideas. We all seem to
have the same focus and motivation, which creates a strong bond
within the ASO. This is how I see
see ASO Executive page 6
ASO members gather at Woodward Park for a picnic.