On May 15, the Kista Church of Stockholm hosted a charity concert entitled “For My Homeland”. The event was organized by Swedish-Armenian pianist Ani Tovmasyan, singer Ani Rustamyan and dudukist Hayk Hakobyan with the support of the Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Sweden and was aimed at lending a helping hand to the families of the heroes who died during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in April, as reported Lusine Ohanyan to Hayern Aysor.

The concert featured performances of the works of great Armenian composers, including Komitas, Arno Babajanyan, Tigran Chukhajyan and Khachatur Avetisyan, as well as folk and patriotic songs.

With her unmatched voice, singer Ani Rustamyan reminded the audience once again about the highly valuable culture of the Armenian nation. Thanks to her, the modulations of Komitas’s songs resonated in the church and in the nearby area. Vardan Ghazaryan, Andranik Derdzakyan and Narek Petrosyan performed patriotic songs. The interpretations of the “pearls” of Armenian music by pianist Ani Tovmasyan, dudukist Hayk Hakobyan, percussionist Hakob Artinyan and Armen Sargsyan inspired not only the attending Armenians, but also foreign guests.

The participants were charmed by Ani Tovmasyan’s performance of Arno Babajanyan’s “Nocturne”.

During the concert, Hayk Hakobyan presented a large variety of brass instruments, including the duduk, the pipe, the zurna and the saxophone. The performances of the Armenian “Berd”, “Kochari” and “Yarkhushta” folk dances reminded the Armenians of Sweden about the victories of the Armenian nation once again.

Gohar Avagyan recited the patriotic poems of great Armenian poets, including Paruyr Sevak, Hovhannes Shiraz, Hamo Sahyan and Nayiri Zoryan. When she recited the words of Gevorg Emin’s poem “Menk” (Us), which is still modern and describes Diaspora Armenians, most of the people in the audience could barely hold back their tears.

Mariam Muradyan, the master of ceremonies, presented the bitter consequences of the war in April, as well as short stories about deceased heroes, including Lieutenant Beniamin Yeghoyan (Monte from Mantash) and Vazgen Harutyunyan from Shushi. All proceeds (15,500 Swedish Krons) from ticket sales will go the families of these two heroes. Besides, most of the Armenians of Sweden wished to make donations along with the organizers of the concert, who decided to donate the 18,500 Krons raised on the spot to the program recently launched by the Armenian Apostolic Church of Sweden, thanks to which several Armenian families, including the families of Yeghoyan and Harutyunyan will receive assistance on a regular basis.

The attendees and foreign musicologists voiced hope that they would have an opportunity to listen to Armenian music more often, and the organizers of the event promised that the concerts would be ongoing.

RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Sweden Artak Apitonyan was attending the event and welcomed the initiative of the Swedish-Armenian musicians. Alongside the financial assistance, the Ambassador emphasized the importance of providing moral assistance to Artsakh and especially to the army. In addition, the Ambassador called on the attendees to come together to achieve the goals of the nation and show the unity of all Armenians around the world.