Speaking of Perspective…

 

While preparing my last bloggy bit which had something to do with perspective, I found this quote attributed to Aristotle: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”  Anyone familiar with this blog could probably guess how much this quotation resonated with me.

I do believe enough of us are not seriously entertaining enough thoughts, especially those that cause us discomfort.   For most of us, we simply reject these thoughts and notions immediately, abruptly, and sometimes, with great emotional intensity.  I have written in this blog also about the polarization that has plagued and paralyzed this great country of ours.  In my view, this paralyzing polarization is caused by everyone NOT entertaining thoughts that are not already in line with what they believe.  This is due to what is Confirmation Bias.  I also wrote about this in other blogs as well.  Here are a few:

 

·      4th of July Thoughts: Polarization Revisited… Again

·      I'd Agree with You, But...

 

Everyone should entertain all positions on a topic.  We should attempt to understand both sides of every issue.  Like a high school debate team, we should be able to argue both sides no matter what the initial take on the issue is.  Only then can we really understand an issue and take an informed stance.

Most large issues aren’t as black and white as the average person thinks they are.  However, I believe, the average person truly wants these issues to be black and white.  We want to know what is right and what is wrong.  We want to know what the good choice is versus the bad choice.  We want to someone to simplify the situation. 

This, of course, leads to groups on various sides of the issue to provide “simplifications” to make it easier for people to choose their side.  As we have seen, various groups have gotten very good at using social media to spread information and misinformation to sway folks to a specific conclusion.  The misinformation is as well-crafted and of the same high production value as the mainstream news media.  The misinformation also plays on peoples’ fear of a deep right or left state or an intricate conspiracy again on the right or the left or Russia or… fill in the blank.

It is easy to accept a dogma.  It requires less effort, less thinking, and less doubt.  The Aristotle quote reminded me of another similar quote from the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats.  In his famous poem The Second Coming, he wrote “The best lack all convictions, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity.”  These days the worst do seem to be full of passionate intensities.  The best?  Are the best lacking all convictions?  It is easy to jump to that conclusion.  I even contemplated that it is because the best are lost in analysis paralysis while the worst are acting on their convictions.  I no longer believe that.  I believe solutions that can be found.  We should fight for discussion and compromise.  We should fight against propaganda, misinformation, and conspiracy theories even given that we may never know the full truth. 

All we can do is to look at all the evidence, all the news, and draw the best conclusions we can.  Of course, this is what everyone says they do.

Navigating the Seas of Stress and Struggle

 

My friend, Abdo, from the University of Chicago Middle Eastern Music Ensemble posted a thought on facebook recently:  “If someone tells you they are struggling and your immediate response is comparison, you’ve lost.”  This thought, this notion, this sentiment, this potential tenet, or adage got me thinking. More than thinking, I might have even mulled it over and once or twice.  I believe I even contemplated a few times. 

What should we say when “someone tells you they are struggling?”  There seems to be a lot of struggling going these days.  It is all related to a mélange of war, social angst to the left of us, social angst to the rights, inflation, a polarized government and populace, and whatever is going on astrologically.  It is all rooted in the unprecedented disruption caused by the pandemic.  If you don’t believe me, it has been widely reported in the media by mental health experts. 

People generally don’t do well with change that disrupts their routine.  Change means venturing into the unknown.  Change means getting out of our comfort zone.  Change means having to deal with the unknown and being out of our comfort zone.  Change on the order we have experienced for the past two and a half years is all of the above and is probably a 17 on a 10-point scale.  It is all new.  There is no precedent for this.  Sure, we talked about the great flu pandemic of 1918.  There are some parallels.  But since then, the population of the world has exploded, and the world has gotten smaller due to transportation and technology advances.  The economy has moved in unpredictable ways e.g., we are on the brink of a recession with unemployment at maybe the lowest rate ever a phenomenon for which the economists have not precedent.

Some of these changes are for the better.  A lot of people have done well economically.  Without a doubt, the lowest tiers socio-economically have suffered the most.  I would contest that it has also been hard on young folk in high school and college.  I have seen students whose senior year of high school and freshman year of college were essentially online.  Such isolation at a time where socialization is critical is a huge change for young folk to deal with. 

There was an article in the July 14, 2022 New York Times:  The Magic of Your First Work Friends.  I didn’t even have to read the article to get the full gist of it.  I immediately thought of my first work friends.  They were critical to my acclimation to the working life.  A few are supportive lifelong friends.  These relationships are solidified by the social aspects of working together:  the chit-chats, coffee breaks, lunches, and after work activities.  This just doesn’t happen very easily in the remote work lifestyle.  This must contribute to the struggles young people may be experiencing.

So, what do we say or do when someone tells you they are struggling?

I guess first and foremost, we should respond with empathy.  Not everyone is capable of this, however.  Some of us are not very empathetic at all.  These folks are apt to respond with “Buck-up”, “Stop complaining and hunker down”, or “Why is your generation so whiney and needy, just do your job.”  Unless this is the kind of feedback you want and need, don’t share you are struggling with people you know or suspect have no empathy.

If we respond with empathy, it is highly likely we next try to share something we believe might help or alleviate the struggling.  Yes, this would be called… advice.  Often, advice given to others who are struggling comes in two forms. I am guessing the most popular method used is to relate their struggle to something in our own experience and history.  By doing so, we are making a comparison we hope the person struggling can relate to.  Perhaps that comparison including how we dealt with it will help the person struggling.  Another way we try to help the person struggling is by try to help problem solve and brainstorming solutions and coping methods.  Be forewarned that this method may also rely on our experiences and how we dealt with our own struggles. 

Bottom-line, there may be no escaping comparisons if one chooses to share that they are struggling with others.  Empathy and trying to help others when we are able is one of the best part of being human.

How we take such “help” is another matter. 

The Greek stoic Epictetus (50 – 135 AD) has an often-cited quote: “It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”  I might change the message a bit in this case, “It is not what someone tells you, but how you react to it.” So, how do we take the advice and comparisons of others when we tell them we are struggling?  We did reveal our struggle to them.  Should we be upset or discouraged when we don’t like how they react or the advice they give?  If that is our reaction more often than not, it is probably best to keep our struggles to ourselves. 

Remember that Epictetus was born into slavery.  While a slave, he had much less control over what happened to him.  He realized that he only had control in how he reacted.  It is profound.  It is easy to say.  It is easy to comprehend.  And, as is often the case, much harder to put into practice.

It is truly a matter of perspective.

Chidem Inch: The Phone Call

 

 

akhaltskha.net

    First published in the Armenian Weekly.

     On July 11, there was a historic phone call between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan. “Pashinyan greeted President Erdoğan on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, while the Turkish president congratulated the Armenian prime minister on the upcoming Vardavar Festival,” as described by Hurriyet Daily News.

     Civilnet called it “…a breakthrough moment for Armenia-Turkey relations. It is the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in many years.” Per Hurriyet Daily News, “The two leaders emphasized the importance they attach to the bilateral normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia, which will also contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region, said the presidential communications directorate.”

     It appears that normalization and an opening of the borders, which have been closed since 1993, is in the works. To us in the diaspora and as faithful readers of this paper, Armenia seems to be doing all the compromising, all the giving in, and ceding territories to achieve this normalization and opening of the borders. There is a real fear on the long-term prospects of all of this.

     Many of us are quick to blame Pashinyan. He lost that horrible war. Many of us feel he is giving away Armenian lands. For what? What are we getting out of this? Living in a world where Turkey and Azerbaijan have control of the future of the region. Will they continue to chip away at what is left of Artsakh? Armenia itself? Will the open border be a boon for the country, or will Armenia just be overrun with Turkish goods, Turkish interests and Turks? Will Armenians stay and even repatriate, or will the population continue to erode? These questions weigh on our hearts and souls. Being Armenian and given what has happened to us in the past hundred years, we worry, and sadly believe, the worst possibilities are the most probable.

     When Pashinyan was elected, many of us believed the people had finally risen up and spoken.  There was hope that we had broken away from having self-serving corrupt leaders with one leg still in the SSR. Sure, he didn’t have experience, but he was fresh and an advocate for the country and people. He even stood up to Putin.

     In hindsight, I believe Pashinyan was naïve and inexperienced. Putin and Erdogan manipulated him and Armenia. Leading up to the war, there were all kinds of border incursions with no definitive protests from any country but Armenia. All the while, Turkey and Azerbaijan were planning for a war in which they were certain no one would lift a finger to help Armenia and Artsakh. With Turkish and Israeli drones, Turkish command and control, Turkish-supplied mercenaries and Russian complicity in the form of silence, the war began and the valiant but underequipped Armenians were eventually overrun. Russia stepped in when, in my opinion, an agreed upon line was reached and imposed a ceasefire that was most likely already agreed upon by Erdogan and Putin.

     It was during the war when people first started calling on Pashinyan to resign. In my view, one of three things was true: he was a deer in the headlights, an incompetent war time leader, or told in no uncertain terms if Armenia intervened beyond a certain limit, Armenia itself would also be invaded. It was probably a combination of being manipulated and being incompetent. By the time of the ceasefire statement, it was clear no one was coming to Armenia and Artsakh’s aid. Both countries could be overrun, and there was simply no room for negotiation. The agreement was imposed upon us.

     Our collective hearts were heavy as we dreaded the details of implementing the terms of agreements of any “truce.” We all realized there was very little negotiation room. As Armenia’s current prime minister, Pashinyan is certainly to blame – as are his predecessors. They share blame. What did they do, or rather not do, to prepare for the inevitable next war with Azerbaijan? What did they do, or again not do, to make Artsakh part of Armenia? They had 28 years to prepare for this and clearly did not do enough. The opposition to Pashinyan reportedly has been led by former President Robert Kocharyan. He led the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997. He then led the Republic of Armenia for another 11 years. Why did he not unite the two countries and bolster the defense forces? The same could be said for Serzh Sargsyan. We simply have never learned the lesson of the paper versus iron ladle of Khrimian Hayrig nor have we heeded the message in Yeghishe Charents’ famous acrostic in his poem, Precept: “Oh Armenian people, your one and only salvation is concealed in your collective strength.” 

     What lies in our future?

     Will there be real peace with Turkey and Armenia? Will it be the kind of peace that will allow our natural ingenuity to flourish? Or will it be the kind of “peace” that allows oligarchs from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia and, maybe, Armenia to grow richer? Will it be a peace that fixes our borders and a peace that our neighbors honor? Or will it be a peace where Turkish trade, investors and people overwhelm Armenia and…? I cannot even fathom this scenario.

     One thing that is crystal clear is that since losing the 2020 war: Armenia has had zero negotiating power. Another lesson is that the fate of Armenia is more in the hands of the Republic of Armenia than the Armenians in the Diaspora. If we in the Diaspora want to make a difference, we have to be there, and even with that there are no guarantees.

It is not clear where our nation is headed, but at least Erdogan congratulated us as we are about to celebrate Vardavar.

Highland Park to Greenwood Park Mall

 

Tomorrow, July 18, will be two weeks since the 4^th of July mass shooting in Highland Park, IL (Terror in Highland Park).  Highland Park being two towns to our south, it was the closest I have ever been to this kind of scourge that plagues our country. 

This evening I was sitting at an outdoor concert of 60s and 70s R&B and Soul music in Lake Bluff.  Lake Bluff is one town to our north.  The concert was in their cozy little town center on the green with a gazebo where the band was set-up.  It was a most pleasant, 70 degree, evening and there was a good sized crowd.  Families were there picnicking on blankets or, as we did, seated in camp chairs.  We were eating dinner and enjoying the beautiful weather, toe-tapping music, and our dinner.  Children were running to and fro having a great time.  A few people danced.  Basically, everyone was enjoying themselves.  It was pure Americana.

As I was sitting there, I looked around and saw the quaint Tudor buildings around the green.  A thought struck me, the Highland Park gunman was on top of a building in their town center.  I looked around to see if there were any greater police presence.  I noticed one police car when we arrived but it was no longer there.  

Then I realized that it was not even two weeks since the Highland Park shooting.  It seemed like ages ago.  The shock and terror everyone around here was feeling dissipated rather quickly, too quickly, and we had all resumed our normal routines, me included. 

Part of this is because these mass shootings are rare enough, that we are not really that worried being involved in one.  The other more distressing part is that we are numb to the frequency of this mass shootings.  We are concerned and shocked for a day or two, and we move on. 

While writing this piece, I learned there was another mass shooting earlier today in Indiana.  In a mall outside of Indianapolis, the Greenwood Park Mall.  A gunman armed with a rifle and several magazines, opened fire in the food court there and killed three people and injured two others.  A bystander, carrying a legal weapon, immediately opened fire and killed the perpetrator thankfully.

In less than two weeks, we experienced another incident.  It has been fifty-four days since the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.  We really have to put a stop to these shootings.  People are clamoring to renew the ban on assault weapons, e.g. the AR-15, with large capacity magazines.  This seems to make the most sense given the Washington Post statistic that is being shared across social media.

• Assault weapons were banned from 1995 to 2004 and mass shooting decreased 37%.
• After the ban ended in 2004 mass shooting increased 138%.

Is this true?  It certainly seems to make sense.  It appeals to our wanting a simple and easy fix.  There is a couple good articles on this subject.  One is in the Austin American-Statesman and the other is from Rand.

Another solution is to arm more people so we can defend ourselves and others when a mass shooting occurs.  What could possibly go wrong if we were to advocate this?

For the time being, I think I am on the side of banning assault weapons and large capacity magazines as a start.

For the Love of the Music: Always Learning

Bimen Şen Dergazaryan

Growing up there was always music in our house.  We had a radio and a record player.  They were nothing special, nothing high end, but filled our house with music.  We had the requisite kids records from 78s to LPs.  We wore the Mary Poppins Soundtrack and Burl Ives’ The Little White Duck and Other Children’s Favorites.  We had and often listened to our four classical recordings, The Best of Tchaikovsky (excerpts from Carmen and The Nutcracker Suite), two Beethoven Symphonies (the 3^rd and the 5^th), and Rimsky-Korsokov’s Sheherazade. 

When my Dad was home, he would listen to Armenian Music.  We called it Armenian music but it also included Greek, Arabic, and Turkish.  He loved the clarinet.  Naturally, being in Detroit, Passport East and the Exciting Sound of Hachig Kazarian were mainstays.  He also liked Artie Barsamian’s The Seventh Veil and Portraits of the Middle East by the Gomidas Band.  I covered his passion and influence in a January 2021 post, For the Love of the Music: Thanks Dad!

From day one, I gravitated to music.  We had a little record player and I had a stack of Disney and other classic kiddie song singles.  Before I even went to school, I knew every record simply from the label graphics.  Armenian music was something I grew-up with.  I always liked it but the intensity grew with time.  It basically took over when I started playing the oud and became a weekend musician. 

I listened to everything Armenian that was available.  At first, this meant on LPs, 45s, and 78s that were around the house.  With the dawn of the cassette tape, the repertoire grew to include more live recordings.  Yet, I was limited to albums and live recordings made in the US, mostly by the active Armenian musicians.  There were scant few recordings from Turkey or Armenia.  Those who had access to recordings from the homeland kept them to themselves.  Sure, they might play them for me, but they rarely made a copy often saying something akin to, “I can let you listen to it, but I promised so and so not to share it.”  While I might have enjoyed those moments of great music, I was always thinking “hell, I would rather you didn’t even play it for me and spare me from hearing that condescending ‘cannot share it with you’ bullshit.”  It must be noted that this behavior was by no means universal e.g. Udis John Berberian and John Bilezikjian were very open, encouraging, and helpful to me as were others.

One theory was that some of this music was held close to the vest because some musicians used their stash of music as material for their own albums.  Cool, I got it.  It was business.  Branding and delivering something new and different was as an important an edge as was talent.  This all began to change in the late 80s and I can attribute it to the dawning of globalization. 

I recall getting a dubbed cassette of a dubbed cassette of Ibrahim Tatlises’s Leylim Ley album.  It opened my ears, eyes, and soul.  I was blown away.  I wanted to play in his orchestra and began to fully realized what it meant to not have our own country.  Soon, there were a few places, in Boston and New York, where you could buy these albums.  Access to music from Turkey became a lot less exclusive.

Fast forward to 2005.  On Valentine’s day of that year, Google launched a service called YouTube.  I am not sure when I first became aware of YouTube, but it was a huge game changer.  There was a lot of Middle Eastern music and music videos available on the platform.  It was a giant musical candy store.  Today, I would have to say almost everything I want to explore and listen to is available on this amazing service.  There is no longer any exclusivity whatsoever.  Everything is basically available to everybody.  Today, the offerings are 100 times, maybe a 1,000 fold, more than they were in the early years of YouTube.  I have lost hours exploring and listening all kinds of Armenian, Arabic, Greek, Persian, and Turkish music.  These days, musicians and aficionados are sharing YouTubes by text, social media, and sharing ideas like never before.

It is a great place to explore and learn.  You can realize that Harout Pamboukjian’s Hye Kacher uses a melody borrowed from Makarem Sari Baglar which in turn was borrowed from the Kurdish Lo Berde or… vice versa.  It is where you can learn how melodies flow between cultures. 

In the past month, I learned about the origin of two pieces that I always loved on albums from the 1970s.  One was, Instrumental (Oud), from John Berberian’s A Middle Eastern Odyssey.  The other was Hey Yala on the Souren Baronian Middle Eastern Soul album.  I always thought the Berberian piece, with an exquisite improvisation, was based on Arabic melody.  Hey Yala?  I knew it was a Turkish piece and for some reason just assumed it was a folk song.  I was wrong on both counts.  Instrumental (Oud) was based on a nakarat or bridge of a classical Turkish piece:  Seninle ey gül-i ahsen.  Hey Yala was also another classical Turkish piece:  İçtim Suyunu Şu Coşkun Derenin.  Even more surprising is that they were both composed by the same person: Bimen Şen, who was born Bimen Dergazaryan.  There is not a lot I could find on Şen in English on the internet.  From turkishmusicportal.org:

Born in Bursa, his first entrance into music was at the age of eight, when he began singing hymns in an Armenian church. In 1884, Hacı Ârif Bey went to hear Bımen, the beauty of whose voice had become known beyond Bursa. At the suggestion of Hacı Ârif Bey, he went to Istanbul in 1887. When he first arrived, he survived by working as a secretary for an Armenian banker, and singing hymns in church. He studied Turkish music with Hagopos Kıllıyan and Lem’i Atlı. He adopted the last name “Şen” (Cheerful) from the Kürdili-hicaskâr şarkı “Yüzüm şen...” (My face is cheerful...), which was very popular at the time. He made many records and towards the end of his life, sung in nightclubs. As he didn’t read/write music, only a few of his compositions were notated by Armenian musicians. For this reason many of his unnotated songs have been forgotten.

A more extensive biography and write-up is available on eksd.org.tr along with sheet music for 176 of his songs.  I wonder how many other songs he wrote that were lost.  As he was born in 1873 and died in 1943, I also wonder how he navigated living and working in Istanbul through the Armenian Genocide and afterward.

I have known of Bimen Şen as a composer of classical Turkish music for maybe twenty years.  I even bought a CD of his compositions and learned he was Armenian in the liner notes.  That was a nice surprise. Now, I am delighted to learn these two pieces I have known and played for years were his compositions.

Live, learn, and keep learning.  There is no end.  It is a great passion.

 

Here are some YouTubes of the pieces:

 

Hey Yala from Middle Eastern Soul

 

İçtim Suyunu Şu Coşkun Derenin

 

   

Instrumental (Oud) - 11:52

 

 

 Seninle ey gül-i ahsen

 

Lo Berde

Presenting Armadi Tsayn

 Origninally published in The Armenian Weekly.

Armenian music is rich in history, tradition and genre. It can be liturgical music. It can be classical music in both the Western sense or in a traditional Armenian style. And it most certainly can be folk music—Eastern or Western with traditional instrumentation or modern keyboards, guitars and drums. For those of us children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of survivors who migrated to America after the Genocide, Armenian music is rooted in the music those amazing people brought with them. It was the village music that sometimes overlapped with Kurdish, Greek, and, yes, even Turkish music. It has always been our music. Generations of musicians have preserved, perpetuated and evolved this music. Sometimes it is called kef music, others might call it “deghatsi” music and picnic music. To generations of AYFers, it is the soundtrack of dances, parties, the Olympics, and, without too much exaggeration, of our lives.

Musicians often worry about this “deghatsi,” Western Armenian, kef music. Will it last? Will it fade away? Who will take it over? Will they make it better while preserving the core of what makes it so special, that je ne sais quoi that gets into our hearts and souls and ties us to our culture in the most visceral way. I believe it is in my very genetic code, and I know I am not alone in thinking this way.

Well, it does my heart good to report there is nothing to worry about. There is a cadre of young musicians that are equally enticed by and devoted to this music. They are quite talented, versatile and entrepreneurial. They love our music and want to play. They want to entertain and share their gifts and talent. Two of these musicians—Alek Surenian and Sam Sjostedt—just formed a band called Armadi Tsayn, and they are touring Armenia the next two weeks. They recently recorded and released a single, “Artsakh Aghves.” Surenian and Sjostedt are also part of the Norkef Ensemble, which is performing at the upcoming AYF Olympics in Worcester.  

Armadi Tsayn founders Alek Surenian and Sam Sjostedt (Photo: Knar Bedian)

I had the virtual pleasure of interviewing the founders of Armadi Tsayn before the start of their tour in Armenia on June 28. As a bonus, I have also included comments from their teachers and mentors.

A.W.: How did you two decide to form this group and why the name Armadi Tsayn?

Alek Surenian and Sam Sjostedt: It started as a pretty vague idea. Once we started having a couple performance opportunities offered to us, we wanted to have a name that would fit what we were doing the best we could. The chemistry between us felt unique, and more like friends playing music than anything else.

We wanted to think of a unique name, and something that connected us to our Armenian identity. Armadi Tsayn, translated to “Sounds/Voice of the Roots” seemed to fit quite well when thinking about what to name the project. We’re always talking about our roots and where we come from, so this name seemed to be a manifestation of that idea.

A.W.: Is it just the two of you?

A.S.: No, most of the time we perform with other musicians and friends. We are always open to bringing in new people and change our sound depending on who enters. For instance, we’ve done most of our performances with Rebecca MacInnes, a Berklee graduate and violinist. She will be accompanying us during our tour in Armenia, as well as Datev Gevorkian on oud and Beck Sjostedt on guitar.

A.W.: How did you meet and decide to collaborate?

S.S.: We met via a connection through the AYF internship. It was friends of friends that brought us together. Once Alek moved to Massachusetts for work, we decided to start working together and bounce ideas and compositions off each other until we found things that really started to work.

A.W.: How did you create, book and otherwise arrange this awesome tour of Armenia?

S.S.: Once things picked up and we established this project more concretely, the idea to perform in Armenia was shared as a possible opportunity for the future. It became reality when Alek’s friend Garin Bedian reached out to us to propose a tour in Syunik province where we would bring the sounds of the Armenian Diaspora to our homeland and breathe new energy into a region which has been combating border incursions and acts of aggression by Azerbaijan. Bedian, originally from Chicago, now lives in Meghri and has been working with us to book venues, contact locals and arrange for shows throughout the country.

AW: What is the tour schedule?

A.S. and S.S.: We will start our tour in Kapan, Lijk and Meghri in Syunik and make our way north to perform in Gyumri and Yerevan.

A.W.: How are you planning to document this tour?

A.S. and S.S.: We definitely aim to share our travels through the country on social media and encourage locals and diasporan alike to attend our shows.

A.W.: Tell me about the recent single “Artsakh Aghves”…

A.S.: It was a composition that Sam wrote only a few months ago, while reflecting on a lot of the events and tragedy of the war and its effects on the Armenian population as whole. It has a bit of a jumpy and bouncy nature to the song structure, which kind of made me think of the way a fox would hop.

It was composed by Sam, and Mal [Barsamian] and I gave our own flare to it once it was pretty much laid out in full. It was a pretty quick process, going from the brain and then into the studio with it. Usually compositions tend to lay around for months before anything actually happens, but this one just felt right to get it out while the piece was still new and entertaining for us.

A.W.: Are you planning more recordings?

A.S. and S.S.: We’re definitely planning to continue releasing music. Hopefully one or two more singles, and then a full EP release. Whatever feels right to do. After we get back from Armenia, we will spend the rest of our time this summer writing and recording, aiming for some late summer/early fall releases for new music.

A.W.: You guys recently did a concert in Cambridge. Tell us about that…

A.S. and S.S.: It was extremely successful! We hosted it at the Lilypad and had two other local groups from our area, Souq El-Jum3a and The Cypress, also play with us. It was so cool for all of us to see such an insane turn out for this style of music, and people enjoying all aspects of the concert.

A.W.: Alek, how did you get into playing the dumbek?

A.S.: I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in a household where music was common, as both my parents played music in their youth. My dad was a drummer, and my mom played the piano. Some of my earliest memories hearing the dumbek was listening to kef music at local events like AYF Midwest Junior Olympics and the madagh picnics in Racine, WI. However, kef music isn’t as popular in the midwest compared to the east coast. When I eventually started going to AYF events east like Camp Haiastan and Junior Seminar during my early teenage years, I was exposed to the music more which got me curious in giving the dumbek a try. I first got one when I was very little to mess around with and decided to revisit it. I began taking lessons in Chicago from Mid East Beat multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Hardy. He set the foundation for me— teaching the basic time signatures and importance of keeping tempo. From there, I took the knowledge he gave me and refined my skills further while also seeking out any events I could play at, particularly with my close family-friend Datev Gevorkian—a fantastic young oud player from Bedford, MA. Over the past few years, we’ve established ourselves as a kef duo playing at many AYF events and recently brought on good friends like Sam and clarinetist Michael Kamalian to create the Norkef Ensemble.

A.W.: What role did your time at Camp Haiastan play in your musical development?

A.S.: Camp Haiastan played a tremendous role because it provided opportunities for me to sit in with amazing musicians like Mal Barsamian, John Berberian, Ron Tuntunjian and Bruce Gigarjian, who would regularly come to perform kef music at the Saturday night dances while I was working as a counselor. It was very much a “learning by doing” atmosphere because they taught me how to play different songs, develop my musicianship and explore the nuances of playing in a full band—all while performing live. I owe a lot to them because they were always supportive and welcoming when I would ask to join. It’s an honor to have them as mentors and continue to play with them today.

A.W.: What is your day job?

A.S.: I’m a footwear designer and majored in product design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I became interested in footwear design because I wanted to combine my passions for sport and art into a career path and have worked at various brands such as Wolverine Worldwide, Timberland, Puma and Clarks.

A.W.: Might music ever become your primary work?

A.S.: No, I don’t see it as something that I would pursue full-time. My career in footwear design is something I worked very hard towards, and I plan to go down this career path for the rest of my life. However, I aim to continue my hobby of playing music outside of my day job as it is a form of escape and therapy for me. It’s a great pleasure to invest in this passion by improving my musical skills, sharing it with good friends, and getting the opportunity to perform at events and explore this new project with Armadi Tsayn.

A.W.: As a designer, can we assume you do the graphics for Armadi Tsayn?

A.S.: So far, yes. I’ve designed a handful of things like the cover art for our new single. The beautiful thing about music is that it’s a multi-faceted art-form where the visual and sonic collide. Having passions for both art and music, it’s really fun to combine and explore both mediums. I regularly work on graphic and apparel design projects outside of my professional work through my own brand as.am or with the AYF.

The cover art for Armadi Tsayn’s first single “Artsakh Aghves”

A.W.: Sam, where are you currently studying?

S.S.: I’m an undergraduate at Berklee College of Music. I study film score and plan on taking a second major in performance as well.

A.W.: What is your primary or first instrument?

S.S.: My primary instrument is the oud now. When I was around 10 to 13 years old, I mainly played drums, and then moved to guitar. I ended up playing mostly in punk, hardcore and rock bands for most of my high school years and even a bit after high school. Once I took up oud though, everything musically seemed to change, and the change was definitely for the better.

A.W.: You have a relatively well-known, if not, famous dad? Can you provide some background information and how he influenced you?

S.S.: When I was born, my dad was signed to A&M Records with his band at the time—Ape Hangers (he was a big motorcycle guy growing up). He had a huge song in the movie “Empire Records,” and that’s what most people know him from. It’s weird to this day that people I meet will fan out over that song and him as a musician. Now, he plays in the Boston-based band Muck and the Mires. His influence on me is honestly bigger than probably any. He introduced me to a lot of cool stuff when I was growing up, from KISS’ “Alive!” to Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Ocean Rain.” These albums had a major influence on me musically, especially hearing them at such a young age. I always had cool music around me growing up.

A.W.: When did you become interested in Armenian music?

S.S.: I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents growing up, especially during summers when my parents would work. They introduced the whole concept of Armenian culture to me. My great aunt shared Armenian music with me, which I found mesmerizing…artists like Artie Barsamian and Udi Hrant. I would see videos as I got older of Richard Hagopian playing the oud and just be absolutely enthralled. As I got older and researched liturgical and folk music, I was really able to get a grasp on the beauty of the music as a whole, rather than something that I just sort of did because it was in my culture. I’m truly fascinated by it and always crave more.

A.W.: The great John Berberian is your oud teacher. Please talk about his influence on your music.

S.S.: Yes, I started playing the oud with John. It started with weekly lessons at his house, but it was one of those things where I went home and played for maybe four to five hours a day, if not more. I have a small studio at my parents’ house, and I would be locked in there for hours on end, listening to different players and just trying to build my ear for the music as I played. John really encouraged me to take it seriously and gave me so much knowledge and a plethora of really cool music that inspired me to attend music school. At Berklee, my oud teacher is Simon Shaheen, who I’ve grown quite close to and share a similar bond with as a teacher and friend. These are two of the most incredible players there are, and I’m forever grateful to be able to spend my time learning from them.

A.W.: I understand you also play the duduk and Mher Mnatsakanyan is your teacher.

S.S.: I started playing duduk during the pandemic. It was one of those things that I bought out of boredom. A friend of mine, Ann Lucas, connected me with Mher, who taught me how to play from the ground up. It was so cool, as I’ve never played a wind instrument before, to fully immerse myself in that side of music. Mher is also the king of duduk. He is just the real deal. I’ve also been lucky enough to study with his father Manvel, who is also an absolutely unbelievable player.

Mal Barsamian played clarinet on “Artsakh Aghves.” As usual, he did an excellent job and added a lot to the recording. I talked to Mal about Sam and Alek’s tour in Armenia. Mal related, “I remember when we used to play at the Camp, and Alek used to join us. I thought he had potential back then. I have not known Sam for as long, but I am very impressed by his playing both on oud, duduk, bass and guitar. It is a great thing they are touring Armenia. I cannot wait to hear all about their experience when they return. I really liked the song ‘Artsakh Aghves’ that Sam wrote and was honored they asked me to play clarinet on the album.”

Armadi Tsayn founders Alek Surenian and Sam Sjostedt (Photo: Knar Bedian)

I also talked to John Berberian to get his perspective on Alek and Sam. He said, “Sam has been my student for two and a half years. His passion for learning was great, and he couldn’t get enough of it. I am so excited for Alek, Sam, Datev, and Rebecca to tour Armenia and get the flavor of our people in the homeland and in turn sharing our music with them.”

Mher Mnatsakanyan is from Armenia. The master duduk player was equally complimentary of the duo and their tour. “These two young individuals are very talented and incredibly enthusiastic. They will do whatever needs to be done to improve and master their knowledge of our music. I once had the chance to play with Alek and Sam. I was very impressed with their eagerness and desire to play our folk music in both Eastern and Western styles.”

Alek’s dad Ara is a good friend. He told me he is very excited about his son’s new project and tour in Armenia. “First, I have known Garin Bedian since he was born and so proud of his move to Meghri. This tour is his idea to bring Armenian American culture and AYF members to parts of Armenia that are not regularly exposed to the diaspora considering the very real possibility that some or all of this region could be lost in the very near future. Second, Datev is my godson and has grown to be an incredibly gifted musician. To see him and Alek start playing together at a young age in the AYF Olympics hotel lobby year after year to now touring Armenia is an incredibly proud moment for me. Finally, I can’t say enough about Alek’s perseverance. He showed an affinity for percussion at a young age. I recall purchasing his first dumbek and sharing with him all my Armenian kef music CDs. He would practice for hours. As he grew older, it became his personal mission to carry on this incredible musical tradition. He is now taking what he learned at home in Chicago to the homeland and sharing it with communities that may have never heard anything like this.”

It’s clear after connecting with Alek and Sam that “our music” is in good hands. Wishing them the best on their exciting tour in the homeland!