Gomidas Organ Fund, Inc.
The Gomidas Organ Fund was founded in 1970 by Berj Zamkochian as a distinctive way to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gomidas Vartabet, the much beloved Armenian priest-composer and ethno-musicologist. Berj was a native of the Boston, Massachusetts area, and the first Gomidas Organ Fund benefit concert was held in the Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Methuen, Massachusetts in April of 1970, a tradition that was continued for 33 years.
The initial project of the Gomidas Organ Fund was to purchase and install five practice organs for the (then) new Gomidas Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia. To date, fourteen organs have gone to Armenia, the latest sent in September 2003 for the shrine in Etchmiadzin in memory of Lucineh Zakarian. Other relatively recent gifts have been made to St. Vartan’s Cathedral, New York; the chapel of St. Nerses Seminary, New Rochelle; Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church Belmont, Massachusetts; Hye Pointe church in Massachusetts, St. James Armenian Church in Evanston, Illinois, and the Mekhitarian Church in Rawda, Beirut, Lebanon.
The Gomidas Organ Fund is committed to continuing Berj Zamkochian’s wishes to promote music of the organ particularly when there is a connection to Armenia, the land of his heritage. In addition to purchase and installation of various organs, The Fund has sponsored a number of events, including:
The initial project of the Gomidas Organ Fund was to purchase and install five practice organs for the (then) new Gomidas Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia. To date, fourteen organs have gone to Armenia, the latest sent in September 2003 for the shrine in Etchmiadzin in memory of Lucineh Zakarian. Other relatively recent gifts have been made to St. Vartan’s Cathedral, New York; the chapel of St. Nerses Seminary, New Rochelle; Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church Belmont, Massachusetts; Hye Pointe church in Massachusetts, St. James Armenian Church in Evanston, Illinois, and the Mekhitarian Church in Rawda, Beirut, Lebanon.
The Gomidas Organ Fund is committed to continuing Berj Zamkochian’s wishes to promote music of the organ particularly when there is a connection to Armenia, the land of his heritage. In addition to purchase and installation of various organs, The Fund has sponsored a number of events, including:
- Numerous organ concerts in Methuen, MA, Newport, RI, the Boston area,
and Japan - Armenian soloists performing with the Boston Symphony
- Armenian Heritage Park, Boston, MA
- Commission of a piece for orchestra and organ composed by Michael Gandolfi,
to be performed by Olivier Latry and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in late
March, 2015. - Support and reconstruction of different components for the organs at Boston’s Symphony Hall, Methuen’s Memorial Hall, and Kotzschmar organ in Portland, Maine.
Berj Zamkochian
April 20, 1929 - February 23, 2004
Berj Zamkochian was an Armenian-American organist. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and eventually joined the faculty. In 1957, at the age of 27, he was appointed organist of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra. Learn more at wikipedia >> Mr. Zamkochian had a love for sacred music. His recordings and concerts throughout the United States, Canada and Europe have earned for him international acclaim. From the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Gallup, New Mexico, he played dedicatory organ recitals on the foremost organs in the country. Learn more at armeniapedia >> |
Gomidas Vartabet
September 26, 1869 - October 22, 1935
Soghomon Soghomonian, commonly known as Komitas or Gomidas (depending on the Armenian dialect and the English translation), was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology. Learn more at wikipedia >>
Komitas is a centrally important representative of Armenian musical art, one of its most distinguished figures. Learn more at komita.am >> (The Virtual Museum of Komitas Vardapet). |