KOHAR enchants the Lebanese audience

KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir, internationally acclaimed for its performances in cities around the world, performed in Lebanon after an eight-year interval.

The star of the performances was Maestro Sebouh Apkarian of Cyprus, who conducted the Symphony Orchestra and the Choir with his own flair and ingenuity.

The first part of the program included classical, romantic, pop and folk songs and instrumental pieces, specially arranged for KOHAR with an emphasis on the traditional Armenian instruments such as doudoug, kanon and dehol. These were fused artistically to convey to the audience the nostalgia of the rich Armenian heritage and culture.

After a short intermission, the second part of the program began with jazz-fusion that enthused young and old audiences with the unique performance that used different instruments including the Armenian zourna.

Further program shifted to patriotic songs. While the somber tunes recalled the sorrow and pain that the Armenians suffered, KOHAR moved the audiences to an upbeat and lively tempo that sounded like the marching conquest of Armenian heroic past.
Another focal aspect of the concerts was the masterful choreography of the dancers, who performed graciously to the true Armenian tunes with their soothing posture and charming smile.

KOHAR was founded in 1997 by patron of Armenian culture Harout Khatchadourian of Lebanon, who sustains all the activities of KOHAR and its worldwide concerts, including the recent performances in Lebanon. The ensemble is named in honor of his mother Kohar Khatchadourian and in memory of his father Aram Khatchadourian.

KOHAR has not only charmed the audiences during the three-day concerts, but also stylistically positioned itself as the only entity that has revived and promulgated the Armenian culture and alphabet as a renewed oath for the new generations to carry on such a noble aim and cause. The proceeds of the concerts will be distributed to the needy Armenian schools in Lebanon.