Armenian Institute

Please note: Postal mailings do not include all events, as some are last minute, taking advantage of visiting speakers. If you think you are not on our email list and would like to be, please contact info@armenianinstitute.org.uk. CALENDAR April 28 April 29 May 5 May 9 May 12 May 17 May 19 June 11 June 14 June 19 Candlelit Concert with Sarkis Zakarian, piano Video Workshop with Adom Saboonchian John Hodian & Bet Williams jazz/folk evening Puppet Club Lecture by Dr Aptin Khanbaghi Voice Workshop with Lydia Kazarians Armenian through Song with Dr Hratch Tchilingirian Byron, Venice and the Armenians with Peter Shahbenderian & Clare Ford-Wille Children’s Music Choir Concert at St Yeghiche Church Հայոց լեզու LANGUAGE TUITION EAST AND WEST ARMENIAN AT VARIOUS LEVELS (BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED) Armenian Institute Library, N Gulbenkian Hall, Iverna Gardens, W8. (Tube: High Street Kensington) New term starts on April 20 and runs for ten weeks (11⁄2 hours per session). All courses will emphasise conversational skills alongside reading/writing simple texts. Weekly tuition sessions last 11⁄2 hours. Each course will be offered subject to a minimum of 4 students registering per term. Fee: £150 per term. Please contact info@armenianinstitute.org.uk to discuss which level you might join. See our website for details of courses and meeting times. WORKSHOP MAKE YOUR OWN FILMS: INTRODUCTORY COURSE TO VIDEO PRODUCTION With Adom Saboonchian Armenian Institute Library, N Gulbenkian Hall, Iverna Gardens, W8. (Tube: High Street Kensington) Induction session: Wednesday, 29 April 2009, 7:30–8:30 Class on Wednesdays from May 6 to June 24, 7:30 – 9:30 pm. Class size is limited. Minimum age 18. Course fee: £180; £150 for Armenian Institute Friends The Armenian Institute is very pleased to have Adom Saboonchian lead an exciting 8 week course in film-making for beginners. The course will enable you to create your own docu- mentary project or just to make better home and travel movies. AI is hosting this course hoping that new film-makers will join a team of people documenting our events for web use and archival pur- poses. We will also encourage the use of video in our ongoing Oral History projects and a session on interviewing techniques will be part of this course. Students will bring their own cameras. Ideally, students will also bring own laptop so that they can continue to work at home but these can be shared in the AI library. Further details (course schedule & technical requirements) on www.armenianinstitute.org.uk. Please Turn Over Armenian Institute, 7 Hollingbourne Road, London SE24 9NB Tel: 020 7978 9104 Email: info@armenianinstitute.org.uk Web: www.armenianinstitute.org.uk UPCOMING EVENTS PUPPET CLUB Open to all ages from 7 – 97 Saturday, 9 May 2009, 10 am to noon Armenian Institute Library, N Gulbenkian Hall, Iverna Gardens, W8. (Tube: High Street Kensington) The puppeteers will revisit the stories from this past year and will work towards a future public perform- ance. Each meeting we create new puppets, scenery and use improvisation to practice skills and en- tertain each other. LECTURE BUILDING MORE THAN “HALF THE WORLD”: THE ROLE OF ARMENIANS IN EARLY MODERN IRAN (1501-1722) By Dr Aptin Khanbaghi Tuesday, 12 May 2009 at 7:30 Armenian House, 25 Cheniston Gardens, W8. (Tube: High Street Kensington) Admission: £3, Free for Friends of Armenian Institute Armenians have been dwelling on Iranian soil ever since Iranian history has been re- corded; however, it is only after the advent of Shah Abbas that they have appeared in the forefront of Iranian history. No other Iranian dynasty has been more associated with the Armenians than the Safavid, and no non-Muslim community has been able to asso- ciate so closely with Iranian rulers since. This lecture discusses the role of Armenians in laying the foundations of the emerging modern Iranian state. Aptin Khanbaghi is a senior researcher and team leader for the MCA (Muslim Civilisations Ab- stracts) project at Aga Khan University. He received his doctorate from Cambridge University in Ira- nian studies. His area of academic interest include religious minorities in West Asia and cultural di- versity in the Muslim world. He is the author of The Fire, the Star and the Cross: Minority Religions in Medieval and Early Modern Iran (I. B. Tauris, 2006). LECTURE BYRON, VENICE AND THE ARMENIANS A talk by Clare Ford-Wille and Peter Shahbenderian Thursday, 11 June 2009, 8 pm N Gulbenkian Hall, Iverna Gardens, W8. (Tube: High Street Kensington) Admission: £10; £8 for Friends of Armenian Institute In order to give more people the opportunity to hear about this exciting topic, we have re-scheduled this illustrated lecture. Clare Ford-Wille is an independent art historian and a well known and respected lecturer, having lectured for example at Birkbeck College and the National Gallery for many years. She frequently leads tours abroad. Peter Shahbenderian is an expert on Armenian art and architecture and has led a number of successful tours to that country. Their subject will be the Armenian monastic com- munity on the island of San Lazzaro in the Venetian lagoon and Lord Byron’s links with them. CHORAL CONCERT Friday, 19 June 2009, at 7:30 pm St Yeghiche Church, Cranley Gardens, SW7 (Tube: Gloucester Road) Admission: £10; £8 for Friends of Armenian Institute The work of young Armenian composer, Tigran Grigorian, forms the centrepiece of this evening’s stunning concert of sacred music, bringing together 3 very dif- ferent choirs. Each choir will perform music from its own repertoire and heri- tage. The music of Komitas and other Armenian composers will be presented by the St Yeghiche choir, conducted by Aris Nadirian. St Barnabas Choir (Dulwich), under Dr. William McVicker, has some 80 members from 7 to 70 years old, including the young composer Grigorian. The Georgian Maspindzeli choir is devoted to singing songs of the ancient polyphonic tradition of Georgia. They give concerts around the country and have inspired new choirs to form in the same tradition. Ricardo Bonci, was a prize-winning organ student at London’s Royal Academy of Music and is assistant director of music at St Barnabas. More details to follow. Please Turn Over Armenian Institute, 7 Hollingbourne Road, London SE24 9NB Tel: 020 7978 9104 Email: info@armenianinstitute.org.uk Web: www.armenianinstitute.org.uk UPCOMING EVENTS