The Weekend- Toronto Bound, Next Weekend- Montreal

I am going to take a break from YerazArt work and take a day off tomorrow. All the venues have been booked and host organizations are off and running promoting the concerts, and we are just waiting for the US Visas to be provided at the Embassy in Armenia. It's without question, one of the nerve-gnawing aspects of the job since the fate of the artists coming to America rests on evidence, interviews, etc first submitted to Homeland Security. Once you get past that hurdle, then each student has to apply at the US Embassy in Armenia. A very long and expensive process indeed. Many Armenian musicians come to the States on tourist Visas, which is basically very risky since they are here to tour (concertize), not tour (look at buildings). In our case, we are going by the book and have been approved for the P3 Artist Visa US side. Now, the interviews are being set up in Yerevan for the final stage of the process. All in all, it has been nice to see communities (Diasporan) ditch more popular fare and choose to promote our group. It can be said that classical music is not really marketable, but, this time around, we are mixing up with folk music as well. Still, the talent is tremendous.

The other great thing about organizing this tour is that I get a feel for which communities step forward and show enthusiasm for local Armenian talent, and which ones defer to get California bands for entertainment. For me, I get to see priorities and values. Which organizations just don't have the vision, and which ones do. As a paid professional, I am grateful to be working in this field and thus have a unique opportunity to interact with similar professionals in other fields . While I am not going to air my negative viewpoints, let me highlight some of the bright spots in our ever-changing Armenian Diaspora. For one, Ken Maranian and that incredible Austin, Texas community is small in number, but, they act quickly and decisively in promoting Armenian shows. This is my second opportunity to work with them, and in each case, I find that Austin, Texas is one of the model Armenian communities going forward with regards to innovation, efficiency, and just plain getting things done. I also have to give a shout out to 89 year old Florence Chakerian of Albuquerque, New Mexico who has put me in touch with the right people in and out of the Armenian and non-Armenian community over there. As the matriarch of the Albuquerque Armenian community (which numbers about 50 active members), she still keep active by emails and meetings over there. Really incredible.

So, I am loading up my car tonight and heading off to Toronto, Ontario to meet up with Lorenzo Micheli and Matteo Mela, members of SoloDuo (www.myspace.com/soloduo). The album was just printed and I am making the 9 hour drive up there to attend their first concert in Toronto (Heliconian Hall) at 8PM Friday night. Both Italians, this is their first widespread Canadian tour. I am always pumped to bring home a freshly minted CD and see how it came out. The official release date is April 17th, unless you can hit one of their shows in Toronto, Quebec City, or Montreal. After that, you'd have to be in Europe to catch it there. There is strong talk about them touring Armenia in October/November through the Italian Embassy in Armenia and with the help of Deem Communications.


I haven't been to Toronto since I was a kid. My parents drove us from Chicago on one of my dads business trips and I remember the CN Tower, etc. But, really, I have no other memories and hitting Toronto will be a really pleasant experience and see another city. I love travel, and mixing business with pleasure is great.

The weekend after this, I will be in Montreal for SoloDuo's concert ( March 30, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours , 8pm) there as well. I hope to meet some Armenians at the concert. Feel free to come up and say hello...

All Photos Courtesy of Arsineh Khachikian, Deem Communications