On January 21, St. John Church in Southfield, MI, hosted the inaugural program in a series of five musical performances and lectures focusing on “Creativity in the Face of Oppression,” all presented under the general title: “Perseverance of the Human Spirit.”
The august group of sponsoring organizations included the Detroit Chamber Winds and String Ensemble, the Detroit Opera Theatre, Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, and the Zekelman Holocaust Center, as well as St. John Church.
The parish’s offering in the series was led by Deacon Rubik Mailian in a presentation titled “Gomidas: His Life and Music.” Drawing on his deep knowledge and musical talent, and his years of experience as director of the parish choir, Dn. Rubik introduced the work of Gomidas Vartabed to an eager audience from throughout the Greater Detroit area.
“Gomidas was an incredible, inspiring individual who faced a life of challenges, encountering difficulties in childhood and adulthood,” he told them. “He survived the Armenian Genocide physically, but his mind became its victim. Yet during a mere two decades of creative productivity, Gomidas successfully composed, compiled, notated, and preserved an extensive collection of Armenian sacred and secular music—effectively preserving the rich tapestry of Armenian music in a remarkable collection printed across 14 volumes.”
Throughout the presentation, Dn. Rubik used projected images and his own vocal renderings to bring Gomidas’ musical genius to life. He was aided by the church organist, Arshaluys Gharibian, who played one of the vartabed’s piano pieces, “Yerange.” Afterwards, audience members were invited to peruse other works of Armenian art created under the most oppressive circumstances—paintings, rugs, and manuscripts—on display in the church’s magnificent Manoogian Museum.
Other events in the series include a retrospective on creativity as a vehicle for racial justice, at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church (on January 25); a concert at Temple Emanu-El of music arranged by Jewish inmates at Auschwitz (February 4); and a program at the same Temple combining elements and performers of the prior sessions (February 10); and a final panel discussion with representatives of all the groups, including St. John pastor Fr. Aren Jebejian (February 18).
Click here to view photos of the St. John’s event. And click the following link for information on all of the “Perseverance of the Human Spirit” programs.