Acclaimed Armenian ensemble is in concert May 4

On Tuesday, May 4, the Shoghaken Ensemble arrives in Ithaca to perform at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall -- the next-to-last stop on its 19-city concert tour of the United States, which began April 1 in Los Angeles and ends May 8 in Philadelphia. This is the first major U.S. tour of Armenia's pre-eminent folk music ensemble, representing the post-Soviet transformation and unlikely flowing of traditional music in one of the most prized of the former Soviet republics.

Admission is $7; tickets are available at the ticket center at Clinton House (116 N. Cayuga St., 273-4497), Willard Straight Hall ticket office, or at http://www.IthacaEvents.com.

Founded by Gevorg Dabaghyan in 1991 and dedicated to rediscovering and continuing Armenia's extraordinary folk music tradition, the group presents music from a broad geographical and historical span using traditional song styles and instruments, including duduk, a double-reed flute carved from an apricot tree; kamancheh, a spiked fiddle; and kanun, a 72-stringed lap harp.

The ensemble has performed extensively in Europe and most recently recorded for the soundtrack of Atom Egoyan's new film Ararat. In the summer of 2002, Shoghaken was chosen by cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform at the "Silk Road Festival," presented by the Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. Members of the ensemble also have collaborated with violinist Gidon Kremer and saxophonist Jan Garbarek.

Many of the musicians in the group, especially duduk-player Dabaghyan, kanun-player Karine Hovanissian and folk singer Hasmik Harutyunyan, have earned wide acclaim as soloists on Armenian State Radio and Television and on international tours in the past decade. Together in the Shoghaken Ensemble, they have become the exceptional interpreters of Armenian folk music, introducing fluid technique and natural conversational arrangements that have transformed the folk genre.