2009 will mark the start of the third year of the very successful Educational Ministry Program (EMP) of the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs. New lectures with guest lecturers, movie nights and an educational mini-course are in the planning stages for our spring semester. As we finalize the dates for our forthcoming events, please mark your calendars for our first activity of the new year. On Friday evening, January 30, 2009 the EMP will present a documentary on Aram Khachaturian, narrated by Eric Bogosian, with music by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. The film received the award for Best Documentary at the Hollywood Film Festival in 2003.

This film is about the life of a composer creating in the darkness of a tragic era. A life full of contradictions: Was Aram Khachaturian playing the fool for Stalinism, or composing music that cried out against its evils? Was he a Soviet favorite musical son, or a sacrificial lamb? A loyal subject of the Kremlin, or secret dissident? An Armenian composer, rooted to his heritage, or the New Socialist Man? As we will see, like most Soviet citizens, Khachaturian hid a complex private life behind a mask of Communist loyalty.

The core of Khachaturian’s music was overtly Armenian, using its melodies and rhythms, simple and pure, to infuse his ballets, concertos and symphonies. He was also influenced by the Armenian music of the time, and the jazz of the 1930s and 40s. In his famous “Sabre Dance,” Khachaturian combined an Armenian wedding folk tune with a jazz saxophone. How Khachaturian’s Armenian ethnicity played out against the high status of his Soviet politics is the great contradiction of his epic life story.

The movie (83 minutes) followed by a musical video presentation of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto – Third Movement, by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (9 minutes) will be shown in Kalustyan Hall at 8pm on Friday, January 30, 2009. Refreshments will be served throughout the evening. Suggested donation is $10 per person (students free). Your donation helps the Educational Ministry Program invite guest lecturers throughout the year, print educational materials and provide refreshments for the community. We thank you for your continued support in this very important ministry of our parish. Look for new events in the coming months.

(Information about the movie obtained from DVD jacket)