Concert Programs
Armenian Music of Grikor Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939)
Armenian Congregational Church, Southfield, Michigan
Sponsored by Tekeyan Cultural Association and The Suni Project
Maro Partamian, mezzo-soprano; Rubik Mailian, lyric tenor; Armena Marderosian, pianist; Sevan Suni, violin; Anoush Suni, violin + oud, great granddaughters of the composer

A Jubilee Concert


Mezzo-soprano Maro Partamian (in purple), Violinists Anoush Tamar Suni (20, in red skirt) and Sevan Siranoush Suni (25, in white skirt), pianist Armena Marderosian (58, in red), performed 27 works of Armenian composer Grikor Mirzaian Suni (great grandfather of the violinists) on Saturday March 10, 2007 for the 7pm AGBU Armenian General Benevolent Union 100th anniversary concert sponsored by the AGBU Philadelphia chapter at Armenian Martyrs' Congregational Church, Havertown, Pennsylvania.

Armenian Language
One of our goals is to help people learn to read Armenian.
Armenian Alphabet

Armenian Alphabet Confusing Letters (PDF)
View
Suni Project's Armenian Alphabet Transliteration System >> It
is designed to show how to pronounce the sounds of the
Armenian language. [To view a clearer version, download
our 1997 CD Booklet in PDF format where you will find
the transliteration system on pages 18 and 19]
About
transliterations >>
The Suni Project has chosen a transliteration system to
help the reader and singer pronounce the sounds of the Armenian
language. However, we are providing, also, the Library of
Congress 1983 transliteration system as a reference. View
the Library of Congress 1983 transliteration system >>
Selected Glossary

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Georgian Alphabet
Georgian Alphabet (PDF) for comparison with Armenian alphabet.


Armenian Rug
Armenian Gendje

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Caucasian Armenian rug made in 1914 in Gendje, in Grikor
Mirzaian Suni's home region. Remarkable for the colors,
rhythm,
design, and themes. This image can be found on page 25 of
the catalogue, "Armenian Rugs: The Gregorian Collection",
The University of Michigan, Rackham Galleries, February 4-18,
1983.
Armenian Rug Replica
Weaver, Dale Johnson of Santa Cruz, California, has woven
a replica of the previously pictured Caucasian Armenian Gendje
rug. The replica was completed as of November 2003! Dale
Johnson is a retired professor of Chinese language and literature.
The Armenian inscription, shown in the below right image,
says:
2003 year Armena Ron Siuni
Professor Johnson has woven this rug for Armena Marderosian
and Ron Suny as a 2003 replica of the antique (1914) rug.

Armenian Art
Mount Ararat by Martiros Sarian

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Mount Ararat, also called by Armenians "Medz Massis"
(Big Peak) and "Pokr Massis" (Little Peak), or "Massis",
as seen from the east.
Painted by Martiros Saryan (born 1880), a contemporary of
Grikor Mirzaian Suni..
Photos
A Jubilee Concert


"Grikor M. Suni: Musician and Man"
Grikor
M. Suni: Yerzhshtagetu yev Mardu,1943, Philadelphia hardback
red book in Armenian, 409 pages:
"Grikor M. Suni: Musician and Man" by Hagop Kouyoumjian,
who was a musicology student of Suni.
Photos, Musical Scores, and Documents (PDF, 8MB) from the book (75 images in order).
Grikor Mirzayants-Suni Chorus - Shushi 1902 / 3 academic
year (July)
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>>
Photos from the archive of Gourgen (George) Suny and Arax (Kesdekian) Suny. 2006 Broomall, Pennsylvania

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>>

Posters
Boston Concert - May 18, 1924, Jordan Hall

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Maps
Armenia and the Caucasus

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This map shows the location of Mount Aragats (Alagyaz, Alakyaz)
northwest of the city of Yerevan, the title of a Suni song.
It shows Mount Ararat, southwest of the city of Yerevan, also
called Medz Massis (Big Peak) and Pokr Massis (Little Peak),
or just Massis. "L" stands for Ler which means mountain,
e.g. Ararat L., Aragats L. The Black Sea is at left. The Caspian
Sea is at right. Lake Sevan is lower center. Lake Van is lower
left. Lake Urmia is lower right.
The map can be found on page 6 of Haikakan SSR Atlas (Armenian
SSR Atlas). Yerevan - Moscow, 1961.
Armenian map (1917-1921)

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This map shows Armenia in the period of the Russian Revolution,
the independent Armenian republic, and the establishment of
Soviet power (1917-1921). The Black Sea is upper left. Lake
Sevan is on the right. Lake Van is lower middle. Lake Urmia
is lower right.
The map can be found on page 108 of Haikakan SSR Atlas (Armenian
SSR Atlas). Yerevan - Moscow, 1961.
Mountains of Bingyol and Sipan

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This English language map is an excerpt of map # 193 (The
Villayets of Bitlis), on page 204 of Robert H. Hewsen's "Armenia:
A Historical Atlas." University of Chicago Press. Chicago,
2001.
It shows the location of Bingyol Mountain (south of the city
of Erzurum) and Mount Sipan (north of Lake Van), among the
mountains mentioned in Suni's songs.
Armenia and the Middle East (1878-1914)
Many Armenian Americans have heard of the villages and towns
their ancestors came from but don't know where they are. The
immigrants would identify themselves by their place of origin.
Societies were formed and still exist, such as the Armenians
from Istanbul and from Van, even with their own journals.
The Van journal is called Varak after the monastery near the
city of Van and Lake Van.

News
Articles
The Biography of Grikor Suni
Printed in The Armenian Reporter International, Fresh Meadows,
New York, November 28, 1998, pages 12-13.
View article now >>
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the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the article. If you
have difficulty viewing it, you may need to download Acrobat.
Click here to be taken to the download site >>

Video
Dancing Vanetsi's [a 2-minute video]
Armenian
dancers from Van, Armenia filmed in 1946 in New York by Antranig
Shahinian. Among the 8 dancers are Andy's dad Vagharshag
and, the eldest, Levon Kazanjian.
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video and further explanation of the video now >>
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the free Quicktime player to view the video.

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