· Classical
Rerooted: Joseph Bohigian and Kevork Mourad present a virtual premiere of Syrian-Armenian project
Armenian-American composer Joseph Bohigian is premiering a new piece titled Rerooted featuring the recorded testimonies of Syrian-Armenians who have resettled in the Republic of Armenia since the Syrian Civil War. The composition for string quartet and electronics will receive a virtual premiere with an original video by artist Kevork Mourad, himself born in Qamishli, Syria, and performed by the Argus Quartet on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET / 9 pm Syrian time / 10 pm Armenian time.
Rerooted traces the journeys of over a dozen Armenian families through interviews conducted by the Rerooted Archive, from their expulsion from the homeland during the genocide in the early 20th century through the rebuilding of their lives and community in Syria, their displacement during the civil war in their adopted home, and their resettlement in the Republic of Armenia. The piece explores the complicated process of “rerooting” a community which is defined by exile and the realities of a displacement that leads back to the homeland. According to Bohigian, his idea for the piece came from the increasing Syrian presence he saw in Armenia over the course of his trips there since 2012, whose Western Armenian culture reminded him of home when the “homeland” felt foreign. This grew into a collaboration with the Rerooted Archive, which shared audio from their over 200 interviews with Syrian-Armenians documented since 2017.
The virtual premiere of Rerooted with music by Joseph Bohigian and video by Kevork Mourad will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET / 9 pm Syrian time / 10 pm Armenian time at the following link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wgstOwahE
Rerooted traces the journeys of over a dozen Armenian families through interviews conducted by the Rerooted Archive, from their expulsion from the homeland during the genocide in the early 20th century through the rebuilding of their lives and community in Syria, their displacement during the civil war in their adopted home, and their resettlement in the Republic of Armenia. The piece explores the complicated process of “rerooting” a community which is defined by exile and the realities of a displacement that leads back to the homeland. According to Bohigian, his idea for the piece came from the increasing Syrian presence he saw in Armenia over the course of his trips there since 2012, whose Western Armenian culture reminded him of home when the “homeland” felt foreign. This grew into a collaboration with the Rerooted Archive, which shared audio from their over 200 interviews with Syrian-Armenians documented since 2017.
The virtual premiere of Rerooted with music by Joseph Bohigian and video by Kevork Mourad will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET / 9 pm Syrian time / 10 pm Armenian time at the following link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97wgstOwahE
