On February 19th the Embassy of Armenia to the United States hosted a gala concert and dinner celebrating the richness and diversity of Armenian art and music to kick off the Post Classical Ensemble’s Spring 2020 Armenian Festival. Attended by the members of the upcoming festival’s executive committee, festival sponsors and supporters, the evening featured a stunning performance by world-renowned Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, accompanied by Post Classical Ensemble’s Concertmaster Natanel Draiblate, who enchanted the audience with their renditions of works by Bach, Ligeti, Khudoyan, Kodaly and others.

In his opening remarks Ambassador Varuzhan Nersesyan spoke about the power of cultural diplomacy, the synthesis of cultures throughout history and the promotion of cross cultural ties. Later during the evening PCE Executive Director Joseph Horowitz gave a brief outline of the upcoming festival.

Information։ “The Color of Pomegranates: An Armenian Odyssey” 2020 Armenian Festival, co-chaired by Armenian-American benefactors Aso Tavitian and Noubar Afeyan, will comprise a series of events, including an Armenian Film Festival at the National Gallery of Art and an unprecedented multi-media immersion experience and concert at the Washington National Cathedral, featuring the PCE (ensemble-in-residence at the Washington National Cathedral), cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, composer Vache Sharafyan and visual artist Kevork Mourad. In addition to these, a number of other events such as Armenian art exhibitions and concerts are slated to be held in Washington DC and New York. The 2020 Armenian Festival will be the third major cultural event in the US in the past few years exploring Armenian cultural heritage and traditions, following last year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s Armenian program and the Metropolitan Museum’s landmark Armenia! exhibition.