Author Archives: aratopouzian

The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) hosted their 81st annual Olympic games in Detroit this past Labor Day weekend. Close to 1,000 people of all ages came to cheer on their favorite athlete as they participated in tennis, golf, swimming and/ … Continue reading →

For the last several weeks I have been conducting several interviews of the “old time” (said with the utmost respect) Armenian musicians that had a presence in Detroit back from the early fifties and it really continues to be an eye … Continue reading →

In the beginning part of the year, I have concentrated most of my efforts in regards to my upcoming film documentary on fundraising. Certainly not the most enjoyable part of this project, but it ended up becoming a humbling experience. … Continue reading →

Well, it happened again today and I immediately thought the subject would make for a great blog discussion. You can be the judge. I was asked to play an event for free. This is certainly something every musician I know … Continue reading →

I could be opening a Pandora box in bringing this subject up, but I am hoping to tackle an issue in this posting to give some clarity and potentially open some constructive dialogue on the subject – the origin of Armenian … Continue reading →

Turkish kanun maker Ejder Güleç passed away a few days ago. He was an expert kanun maker that I never had the good fortune of meeting, but I am happy to say I own one of his instruments. Ejder kanuns as … Continue reading →

Congratulations to the latest round of Kresge Artist Fellows announced this past week! I still get excited whenever I see the new Fellows emerge and I start to think about the experience I had in 2012 and how it was … Continue reading →

When I was growing up, I had the opportunity to play a musical instrument starting in 5th grade. Little did I know then (or probably care) that music would be such an important part of my life. The instrument chosen … Continue reading →

The second and most important day for us was on Friday. For me, the day started at 3:30am local time and after taking in some of the local atmosphere and of course…Starbucks coffee, Mark, Leon, Mike and myself headed to … Continue reading →

So many titles I could call this blog, but none seemed as fitting as just simply calling out where I traveled for a concert this past weekend — Walla Walla, Washington. This is the furthest I have traveled west for … Continue reading →