and I am excited.

We have been talking about this show for so long now… planning for it, praying about it… we have been patient… waiting for just the right time to bring Armenian folk songs to the South!

I am a mix of all sorts of emotions. As I go over the final set list and rehearse, I am moved to tears by thoughts of my grandmother. So much of what I do is about her. I am going over her story for the audience tomorrow… and each time I go over it, I see her, as a little girl… and my eyes well up… she endured so much during the Armenian Genocide.

Yet she continued to sing.
She held on to her faith.

This is her story.
This is my legacy. My history.

And I think of my mom and dad. So much of what I do is about them. About the passion for my heritage that they have instilled in me. Not by force… just a natural, real, true love for our Armenian culture that they displayed by their every day lives. As I heard them speak Armenian with us, with each other, sing Armenian songs, tell Armenian stories, I came to love my language and my culture.

And I think of my husband and child. My producer told me that I needed to find a champion for my music… and I know I have found that person. My husband has worked so hard to make this evening come together and I am so blessed to have his support. And of course, my little one. I want so much to pass on our culture to her… I want to do it naturally, not forcefully… just like my parents did with me…

And… I think of my Father. He is the ultimate reason that I sing. What Joy!

Sometimes, actually, often, I still feel like a little girl, with my pretend microphone, singing and making up shows for my grandpa in Vancouver – he was the best audience! And he asked for encore after encore… oh! We’d have such fun….

I can’t wait for tomorrow….

Tags: armenian culture, Armenian folk songs, Armenian Genocide, family, grandfather, grandmother, music, South, Vancouver