On March 16th the Embassy of Armenia to the United States celebrated this year’s DC Francophonie Festival with two sold out concerts at La Maison Française at the French Embassy, featuring Los-Angeles based band Paris Chansons.

Organized in partnership with the French Embassy and Smithsonian Associates, the concerts were attended by a diverse audience representing the Armenian and Francophone communities, members of the diplomatic corps and various cultural institutions. The shows were a tribute to Charles Aznavour, world-renowned French-Armenian chansonnier.

In his remarks prior to the concert Ambassador Varuzhan Nersesyan spoke about the mission of the DC Francophonie festival as a celebration of Francophone culture and traditions through inter-cultural exchange and diversity. He also touched upon Armenia’s role as a member of the International Francophonie Organization and the extraordinary life and legacy of Charles Aznavour as an Ambassador of the Francophonie, National Hero of Armenia and citizen of the world. The Ambassador thanked all those without whom these concerts would not have been made possible, namely Marie-Hélène Zavala, Director of La Maison Française, Brigitte Blachere, Program Manager at the Smithsonian Associates, and Oscar Tatosian, Honorary Consul of Armenia in Chicago.

Paris Chansons’ outstanding musicians took the audience to an exhilarating journey through their original renditions of French favorites by Aznavour, Adamo, Macias, Piaf, Dassin, Dalida, Zaz, plus some songs from their international repertoire.