The grand re-opening of the Octet Music School on September 20, 2013, was an auspicious event for Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri. Present for the occasion were Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan, philanthropists Edward and Janet Mardigian, Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, and members of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) board of directors. Standing out among the dignitaries was internationally renowned musician Ian Gillan, for whom the day represented the culmination of 20 years of intense humanitarian effort on behalf of the people of Armenia.
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PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710
E-mail: chrisz@armeniandiocese.org
Website: www.armenianchurch-ed.net
April 21, 2014
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A WORLD OF MUSIC AND HOPE
Diocese Names Ian Gillan “Friend of the Armenians”
The grand re-opening of the Octet Music School on September 20, 2013, was an auspicious event for Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri.
Present for the occasion were Armenia’s President Serge Sargsyan, philanthropists Edward and Janet Mardigian, Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, and members of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) board of directors. Standing out among the dignitaries was internationally renowned musician Ian Gillan, for whom the day represented the culmination of 20 years of intense humanitarian effort on behalf of the people of Armenia.
Ian’s Armenian odyssey began in the wake of the earthquake of 1988. As the lead singer of the British rock band Deep Purple, Ian had found himself deeply affected by the disaster that left many thousands dead and even greater numbers injured and homeless. To contribute to the relief effort, he led a constellation of British rock stars in a cover recording of Deep Purple’s hit, “Smoke on the Water.”
“Rock Aid Armenia” was the brainchild of activist Jon Dee, who united a roster of “hall of fame” musicians around the project: Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple, Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen, Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, Geoff Downes from Asia, Chris Squire from Yes, Keith Emerson from Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and others.
The recording was a great success, raising both funds and awareness for the plight of Armenia.
In 1990, Ian Gillan took his personal efforts a step further, when he announced that he would give four concerts in Yerevan. At that time, though Armenia was moving steadily towards independence, it was still a part of the Soviet Union—where official opinion held rock music to be a dubious and unwelcome Western extravagance. Nevertheless, the concerts went forward at the Sports and Concert Complex in Armenia’s capital city, and Armenian fans reveled in the music even as they saw that surrounding realities were changing.
Ian’s visit to Armenia left a deep impression on him. During his visit to the city of Spitak, in the earthquake zone, he was approached by an elderly woman who showed him a photograph of her family: 28 people, including children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren—all of whom had perished in the disaster.
“I was asked to tell about what I had seen,” Gillan reported in an interview, “but I could not articulate a single word. I just sobbed.”
As a musician, he perceived a subtle effect of the earthquake among the survivors. “Something seems to have stopped in Armenia,” he said. In Spitak he had overheard one man confess that “after the earthquake, no music would ever be played at weddings.”
But the man then added: “I believe this is wrong. We should remember what happened; but at some point the music should come back. When Armenians are ready to hear the music while still paying tribute to the past, that will be something to celebrate.”
“When Armenians are ready to hear the music…” The phrase would resonate with Ian Gillan for 20 years—until he saw an opportunity to respond in kind.
It came in October 2009, when Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi, and Geoff Downes were back in Armenia, visiting “Music School No. 6” in Gyumri. The school had been destroyed in the earthquake, and had languished for two decades in a state of miserable disrepair, with students relegated to what were supposed to be “temporary” iron shelters. From its pre-earthquake height of around 500 students, the school now drew fewer than 200, and many of these from the most vulnerable strata of Gyumri’s society.
And yet, even in these dilapidated surroundings, Ian and his fellow visitors saw a spark of something special and beautiful in the young musicians, who delivered performances of classical, folk, and jazz music to the highest standards.
Listening to the children play, Gillan and Iommi decided that they would help rebuild the school. On the spot, Ian agreed to appear in a series of charity concerts jointly with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, starting in March of 2010. Proceeds from the concerts would be transferred in their entirety to the fund for the school’s reconstruction.
The project eventually came into the orbit of the Fund for Armenian Relief, the humanitarian relief arm of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, and a longstanding leader in economic and social development for the still-young Republic of Armenia. With a magnanimous donation from the Mardigian Family Foundation, the project advanced to completion—thus realizing the dream of a musician from the United Kingdom, and fulfilling the musical potential of countless young souls in the city of Gyumri.
By the order of Armenia’s president, Ian Gillan was awarded the country’s “Medal of Honor,” alongside Tony Iommi, Brian May, David Gilmour, and Jon Dee. At the conferral ceremony, the prime minister recalled the sorrowful days of the earthquake and its terrible losses. At the same time, he went on, “we were full of powerful feelings for the people who came by our side at that time, when the world suddenly felt like a very small place. That is what brought you to us, and we want to express our gratitude to everyone who helped us.”
For making our small world a brighter place, filled with music and hope, the Diocese is proud to name Ian Gillan as its 2014 “Friend of the Armenians.”
He will be presented with the award at the 112th Diocesan Assembly in New York City. The presentation will be made during the assembly’s gala banquet on Friday evening, May 2, starting at 7 p.m., at Haik and Alice Kavookjian Auditorium of the Diocesan Complex. For information on the banquet, contact Lorraine Marootian at (201) 560-1482.
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Photo attached: Ian Gillan will be awarded the 2014 “Friend of the Armenians” award at the 112th Annual Diocesan Assembly in New York.
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