Arranging The KOHAR Symphony Orchestra And Choir: My Personal Saga

By Citizen Correspondent Tamar Kevonian

Date Posted: 08/06/08

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The KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir resulted from the philanthropy of an eccentric millionaire as a way to help the city of Gyumri, Armenia after the devasting earthquake in December 1988. It had its first U.S. tour in the Fall of 2007. I was the production manager in charge of logistics. The 130-person group arrived in the U.S. for an eight-city tour and was joined by a crew of 45 people, both Diasporan Armenian and American in ethnicity. The clash of ideas, values and ideals between former Soviet citizens, egotistical millionaires, Americans, and very westernized Armenians led to some hilarious, stressful and sad situations.

There are two kinds of Armenians: those from the East, from what is now the Republic of Armenia, and those from West, descendants from historic Armenian, what became the Ottoman Empire and is now called Turkey. As a result of the Genocide of 1915, where almost 1.5 million perished, the survivors scattered, are still scattering, to the far reaches of the world.

Present-day Armenia is a remnant of its former self - a landlocked country that existed in an isolated bubble as a Soviet republic for 70 years, and now is surrounded by unfriendly neighbors. Starting even before Soviet domination, the oppressive conditions of hostility and struggle created a shell of bravado and self-importance in its people as a means of survival.

Because our ancestral lands were no longer accessible, Armenia became a mythical land and its people noble heroes. Since independence and the formation of the Republic of Armenia in 1991, Diasporans and natives have begun to come into contact in a clash of cultures, expectations and norms. This certainly was the case during the eight-city tour of the KOHAR Symphony and Choir during the Fall of 2007.

In my role as production manager, I prepared all the non-performance related logistics and naturally expected everything to go according to plan. We had a production staff of 50 people, made up of Diasporans, Americans and Canadians, approximately 10 of which were part of the logistical team that included talent coordination, merchandising, food services, transportation, hotel accommodations, entertainment, et cetera.

The talent arrived in groups of 45 over the course of two days. After months of intense preparation the staff was excited to finally greet face-to-face the one 130 members of KOHAR that we knew only through their passport photos.

What did we expect them to be like?