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By Syune Arakelyan

The VEM string quartet, formed within the Armenian Music Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), performed on Wednesday. 
The concert of the quartet took place in the hall of the Union of Architects of Armenia, with the participation of Danielle Segen (soprano), Artur Avanesov (piano), and Armen Hyusnunts (saxophone)
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VEM was formed on the initiative of renowned violinist Movses Pogossian, a distinguished professor of music at UCLA. The group members are: Movses Pogossian, Ela Kodžas (violin), Damon Zavala (viola), and Niall Taro Ferguson (cello).

"This is the tenth year that I have been asked to establish and directed UCLA's Armenian Music Program. From the very beginning, one of our most important projects was to create the VEM ensemble, as it is a very compact idea through which we can present many works of Armenian composers. Our most talented students and graduates receive an invitation to become members of VEM and learn Armenian music, which we perform together in various formats,” Movses Pogossian said in an interview with NEWS.am STYLE. 

“UCLA is the only University in the world that has an Armenian music program. The goal is to introduce [university] students to Armenian music. Almost always, the VEM members are students of non-Armenian descent, they are getting acquainted with this [Armenian] music for the first time, but they fall in love with our art and become great ambassadors for Armenian culture," the famous violinist added with pride.

The university students included in the quartet were in Armenia for the first time, and they were excited and delighted by the impressions of the country. They were looking forward to this meeting with the Yerevan audience, but they had already managed to hold a comprehensive 5-day residency in Dilijan city, holding workshops, masterclasses, and performances for their partners at the United World College Dilijan, Dilijan Community Center, and the Dilijan State Music College. They also performed a well-received full-scale concert in Gyumri. For the Yerevan audience, they played the works of Komitas, Mansurian, Khosrovidukht, Avanesov, Shostakovich, Mirzoyan, Hovhannes, Chtchyan, and Hyusnunts.

"When we return to the US, the Armenian Music Program [at UCLA] will make several recordings in mid-April, and we will release four-CD set in November, which will include works of about 15 Armenian composers, many of them premieres. In May, we plan to tour several American cities in collaboration with Tekeyan Cultural Association, as well as hold our annual Day of Armenian Music at UCLA," added Pogossian, talking about their future plans.

VEM's Yerevan concert and the evening's special guests are presented in the NEWS.am STYLE’s photo report below.

Photos: Arsen Sargsyan

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