TWO MUSICAL ARMENIA ALUMNI IN THE FINAL PROGRAM OF PEGASUS

Pegasus: The Orchestra concludes its season on Friday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center with New Voices – A Journey of Armenian Music, an ambitious and deeply compelling program featuring three New York Premieres and a roster of internationally acclaimed artists. 

Led by founder, Principal Conductor and Artistic Director Karén Hakobyan, alumnus of the Eastern Prelacy’s Musical Armenia program (2011 and 2017), this season finale offers a rare opportunity to enjoy Armenian masterworks seldom heard on major New York stages — spanning intimate songs, virtuosic concerti, and electrifying orchestral showpieces — brought to life by world-renowned soloists.  

The evening opens with the New York Premiere of Hakobyan’s Vocalise for Voice and Orchestra, followed by a deeply expressive vocal sequence tracing a poetic arc across generations of Armenian music — from Komitas Vardapet’s songs to Arno Babadjanian’s Vocalise — performed by Metropolitan Opera soprano Tatev Baroyan.  

The first half culminates in the New York Premiere of Arno Babadjanian’s Cello Concerto, a gripping and rarely performed work, featuring internationally renowned cellist and Tchaikovsky Competition Silver Medalist Suren Bagratuni, another alumnus of Musical Armenia (1993 and 1999).  

The second half opens with the New York Premiere of Edvard Bagdasarian’s Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra, featuring internationally acclaimed violinist Ruggero Allifranchini, Concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center and Pegasus Guest Concertmaster.   

The program concludes with exhilarating selections from Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus, Gayaneh and Masquerade Suites, bringing the season to a thrilling close with music of sweeping intensity, brilliant orchestration, and unmistakable vitality.  

For tickets visit https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/PegasusArmenianMusic