On June 17, 2015, the Armenian religious music concert was held in the Saint Etchmiadzin Church, Tbilisi, right after the Evening Service. The concert was a new interpretation of Armenian religious music from the 5^th to the 20^th centuries, dedicated to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, initiated and presented by Tigran Hamasyan and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir headed by Harutyun Topikyan. It was part of the tour, which consists of concerts in 100 churches and cathedrals all over the world, including the Saint Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Among the guests who attended the concert in the church were the Primate of the Armenian Diocese, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, the Counselor from the RA Embassy in Georgia, Karen Melikyan, the head of the Department of Nearby Communities of the Ministry of Diaspora, Taron Shagoyan and Rev. Fr. Ter Manuk Zeinalyan.

The people present observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the tragedy occurred in Tbilisi. The Director of the Cultural Department, Levon Chidilyan and the Director of the Legal Affairs and Cooperation Department, Mikael Avagyan presented Tigran Hamasyan’s project, the main purpose of which is to praise the fathers of Armenian sacred hymns and chants by taking their music to the ancient churches and monasteries where it was born, to show that despite the genocide the Armenian nation has preserved and breathed new life into the Armenian sacred music.

The repertoire of the concert presented by Tigran Hamasyan and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir consisted of compositions by Mesrop Mashtots, Grigor Narekatsi (Gregory of Narek), Grigor Pahlavuni, Makar Yekmalyan, etc.

The audience, including foreign musicians and sacred music enthusiasts, enjoyed the magnificent piano and choir chanting harmonized concert.

At the end of the event, the Primate of the Armenian Diocese, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan blessed the present and noted that the concert was like a prayer addressed to the martyrs. “This performance in the Saint Etchmiadzin Church is a representation of 5000-year-old Armenian civilization, an example of the Christian culture that created an individual identity of the Armenian Church through sacred chants (Sharakans)”, said the Primate.

Due to the recent tragedy occurred in Tbilisi, Armenian musicians decided to conduct one more “Luys i Luso” (“Light of Light”) concert for charity at Tbilisi State Conservatory Grand Hall in Tbilisi, on June 18. All money raised from the ticket sale will go to a Tbilisi flood relief fund.