In Closing (spring 2008)
Final thoughts from this season at Clark
Photos by Tammy Woodard M.A. '98
In January, Clark's Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies presented the Shoghaken Ensemble, an Armenian folk music and dance company celebrated around the world. The performance featured music, songs and dances that express the vitality and exuberance of traditional Armenian culture, as well as the pain of the Armenian genocide.
Shoghaken's extraordinary ancient repertoire of exhilarating dances, haunting lullabies and love songs has mesmerized audiences far beyond the Caucasus Mountains, where Armenians lived for centuries as the first Christian state established in 301 A.D. Dedicated to rediscovering and continuing Armenia's extraordinary folk music tradition, the group presents music from a broad geographical and historical span using traditional instruments and song styles.
In 2002, Shoghaken was chosen by internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform at the Silk Road Festival, presented by the Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. In 2003, their CD "Armenia Anthology" won the NARM Award for Best World Music recording of the year.
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