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NEW ENGLAND TRIPTYCH HONORS ALAN HOVHANESS

Arlington, MA - New England celebrated and initiated the coming 100th Anniversary of American-Armenian composer, Alan Hovhaness.

Memorial events included the Arlington, Massachusetts, Hovhaness' hometown, unveiling and dedication of the first monument to the composer, a free memorial concert at the Arlington Town Hall, and a long-distance road running event called "All Men are Brothers." The run began at Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire and ended at Hovhaness’ boyhood home in Arlington.

Pianist Martin Berkofsky, who during important formative years, greatly benefited from his personal contact and communication with Alan Hovhaness, is now a recognized champion and interpreter of Hovhaness' music. He began his pilgrimage by climbing Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire's 3,165-foot peak of which the composer himself wrote: "I used to climb many mountains in New Hampshire...in 1932 or around that year I played piano in a trio in Shattuck Inn at the foot of Mt. Monadnock and I climbed the mountain every day between the noon concert and evening concert." (Letter to Walter Harding, Secretary, Thoreau Society, March 20, 1987, quoted with permission.) Hovhaness regarded mountains as meeting places between man and God and wrote many works including a symphonic movement "Monadnock," named after mountains.

The composer's father, Haroutioun Chakmakjian, Harvard graduate, professor at Tufts University, and author of the first Armenian-English dictionary, was known to have walked 15 miles a day in his later years. He was affectionately known to his Arlington neighbors as "Professor."

The title of the pilgrimage, "All Men are Brothers," is taken from Hovhaness' 11th Symphony of that name. Hovhaness wrote, "Let all unite in peace on our tiny planet."

Berkofsky celebrated his 2003 60th birthday by running 880 miles across the American Heartland, raising over $80,000 for cancer research (www.celebrateliferun.com.) His pilgrimage from the Mount Monadnock summit started on Saturday, May 2, and continued, crossing the New Hampshire border to Massachusetts along highways 124, 119, 225. The final miles in Massachusetts were run on the Minuteman Bike Path from Bedford, through Lexington, and then to the Hovhaness family home at 5 Blossom Street in Arlington on Wednesday, May 13.

The second event of this memorial triptych took place on Sunday, May 17th at 2:00 p.m. when the Alan Hovhaness Memorial was unveiled and dedicated at the Jefferson Cutter House on Massachusetts Ave. The conclusion of this Hovhaness triptych took place at the Arlington, Masschusetts, Town Hall at 3:00 p.m. in a free, open-to-the-public concert directed by Dr. Pasquale Tassone. Featured performers included pianists Martin Berkofsky and Ani Hovsepian. Both Arlington High School ensembles and soloists Cynthia Forbes, cello, Orlando Cela, flute, and Sylvie Zakarian, marimba, performed works by Hovhaness as well as other works including the world premiere of a work dedicated to Hovhaness entitled “Dzon.”

During the course of his "All Men are Brothers" run, Martin Berkofsky broadcast from the Alan Hovhaness Special Event Station, W1H. Inspired by Hovhaness' love of astronomy, station W1H directed its signals to the moon, which were then reflected and received in Switzerland, where the "All Men are Brothers" Symphony No. 11 was completed.

The symphonic score of Symphony No. 11 was carried by Berkofsky from the Mt. Monadnock summit to the Hovhaness/Chakmakjian home, autographed by many along the way of his run, and is now part of the permanent Hovhaness collection (a sister collection of the Alan Hovhaness International Research Centre in Yerevan, Armenia.) at the Armenian Cultural Foundation in Arlington, MA. Please contact the Armenian Cultural Foundation at 781-646-3090 or acf.hmh@verizon.net for information on how this collection of over 3,000 Hovhaness documents may be viewed by scholars and researchers.

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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HOVHANESS CENTRE

The Alan Hovhaness International Research Centre gratefully accepts tax-deductible (in the U.S.A.,) contributions to assist its construction fund through the Cristofori Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organisation as defined by the United States Internal Revenue Service. Contributions may be made through the Cristofori Foundation's PayPal account:

presidentATcristofori.org

Please E-Mail the Cristofori Foundation or Mr. Alexan Zakyan at either of the above addresses for additional information. (Please replace AT with @, changed here to prevent spamming.)

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