oh my head is bursting. i have been working very hard and it seems to be catching up with me this morning. my usual morning tea is not helping.
we have had two concerts, and there is still one to go. the first concert was the british jazz band soweto kinch, and the people loved them. they were down to earth nice guys who had a tale to tell... through sowetos sax. last night was avet terterian's sixth symphony... although the music was avantegaurd and heavy... there were many people who were enthralled... and listening carefully. just as many people did not "get it" and were expecting upbeat and light... but terterian was never marked as light or upbeat so the title of the concert should have been a foreshadowing of the symphony to come. overall, i think that we have raised the bar with the outdoor events we have been hosting. tuesday night we will host anna mayilyan, an armenian folk singer with quite a following. armenian instruments always make the event nice.
the night before our jazz concert in another part of town (where i live)... an outdoor rabiz festival was in full swing. the word rabiz was amot (shameful) just a few years ago... yet now we are organizing festivals around the word.
rabiz stands for rabochi iskustvo (culture of the working class)... and it has come to represent anything from men wearing all black with pointy shoes and personal bodyguards... to music which finds the singer elongating each word and singing as if they were swimming. the sounds of rabiz peirced through my window as i was told love stories about a yar (lover) who wrote a goodbye letter and the tears shed by the singer as a result as a result. i guess a bit of everything is needed... but rabiz into the wee hours of the morning was enough to put me over the edge.
last night before our concert, i was part of a panel discussion that raffi nizibilian organized for land and culture, birthrights and interns visiting this summer. it was a nice venue to vent the goods and the bads about repatriation... irregardless, it reminded me of what a good thing i have done for myself but hauling myself to armenia.
during the lecture we discussed: repats... crazy or pioneers. i would like to think the latter... most people i have been coming across agree.
something that made me happy was a commonality i found with most of the other repats. most of their parents flipped when the repats announced their... repatriation. but all the parents who flipped out (my mom and dad included)... after visiting us in armenia and seeing our lifestyle and getting to know yerevan... came around. each one of them are comfortable with our decisions... that made me smile.
we have had two concerts, and there is still one to go. the first concert was the british jazz band soweto kinch, and the people loved them. they were down to earth nice guys who had a tale to tell... through sowetos sax. last night was avet terterian's sixth symphony... although the music was avantegaurd and heavy... there were many people who were enthralled... and listening carefully. just as many people did not "get it" and were expecting upbeat and light... but terterian was never marked as light or upbeat so the title of the concert should have been a foreshadowing of the symphony to come. overall, i think that we have raised the bar with the outdoor events we have been hosting. tuesday night we will host anna mayilyan, an armenian folk singer with quite a following. armenian instruments always make the event nice.
the night before our jazz concert in another part of town (where i live)... an outdoor rabiz festival was in full swing. the word rabiz was amot (shameful) just a few years ago... yet now we are organizing festivals around the word.
rabiz stands for rabochi iskustvo (culture of the working class)... and it has come to represent anything from men wearing all black with pointy shoes and personal bodyguards... to music which finds the singer elongating each word and singing as if they were swimming. the sounds of rabiz peirced through my window as i was told love stories about a yar (lover) who wrote a goodbye letter and the tears shed by the singer as a result as a result. i guess a bit of everything is needed... but rabiz into the wee hours of the morning was enough to put me over the edge.
last night before our concert, i was part of a panel discussion that raffi nizibilian organized for land and culture, birthrights and interns visiting this summer. it was a nice venue to vent the goods and the bads about repatriation... irregardless, it reminded me of what a good thing i have done for myself but hauling myself to armenia.
during the lecture we discussed: repats... crazy or pioneers. i would like to think the latter... most people i have been coming across agree.
something that made me happy was a commonality i found with most of the other repats. most of their parents flipped when the repats announced their... repatriation. but all the parents who flipped out (my mom and dad included)... after visiting us in armenia and seeing our lifestyle and getting to know yerevan... came around. each one of them are comfortable with our decisions... that made me smile.
posted by Madlene at 11:25 AM
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