Author Archives: Florida Armenians
Pianist Sergei Babyan Live at Rollins College in Orlando
Florida Armenians is pleased to inform you that The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park will present world-renowned pianist Sergei Babayan for an intimate performance on Sunday, October 20 at 3:00pm in Tiedtke Concert Hall on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park, FL as part of its Visiting Artists Series. Limited tickets are available by clicking below or at https://bachfestivalflorida.org, or 407-646-2182.
The program will include Waltz in A-flat Major, Op. 34 No.1 by Frederic Chopin; selections from Little Preludes and Fugues by J.S. Bach; and L’Entretien des Muses by Jean-Philippe Rameau in addition to other selections by these composers.
One of the leading pianists of our time, Sergei Babayan comes to Winter Park following his return to Carnegie Hall. He has performed at the Warsaw Philharmonic, Severance Hall in Cleveland, and Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, among many other respected performance halls. Babayan’s performances have earned international acclaim: “Babayan is no mere pianist. He is a master-musician for whom the piano is his voice, his orchestra” (The Scotsman). “Sergei Babayan is one of those chosen few: those artists capable of transporting us to their universe, of taking us to a different world.” (Le Devoir). “Babayan showed breathtaking virtuosity and sensitivity, but also the greatest possible pianistic force to finally let overwhelming emotions fulminate from the grand piano” (Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung).
Sergei Babayan, an Armenian-born American citizen, is a Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist; his latest release is of his own two-piano transcriptions of works by Sergei Prokofiev. Babayan has won consecutive first prizes in several major international competitions including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Hamamatsu Piano Competition, and the Scottish International Piano Competition.
https://bachfestivalflorida.org/event/sergei-babayan-piano/
About the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park
Founded in 1935 in Winter Park, Florida, the Bach Festival Society is one of the longest continuously operating Bach Festivals in the country and is well ranked among America’s great oratorio societies. The Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra bring the highest caliber of classical music to Central Florida in the intimate settings of Tiedtke Concert Hall and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins College campus for the Society’s Annual Bach Festival, Choral Masterworks, and Visiting Artists performances. It presents a variety of educational and community outreach programs year round. More information is available at http://www.BachFestivalFlorida.org.
The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park is supported in part by numerous individual donors; the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation; the Jessie Ball duPont Fund; the Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation; Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program; United Arts of Central Florida, host of OrlandoAtPlay.com and UAArtsEd.com; and by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
In Memoriam: Armenouhi Odabachian
Armenouhi Odabachian (née Kutnerian), 96, passed away peacefully on the morning of May 8th. Armenouhi is survived by her daughter, Arlys (Hagop) Koushakjian, son Arshag Odabachian, grandsons Taniel and Devon, granddaughter Arianna and great-granddaughter Ayla.
Born on March 19th 1923 in Romania, Armenouhi was the daughter of an Armenian Genocide survivor. Her life’s winding narrative took her to Egypt, Beirut, Detroit and finally to Boca Raton FL in 1993, where she could be near her daughter’s family. Married to Ara Odabachian (U.S. Army ret.) in 1950, she was a devoted mother to their two children.
Throughout her life, Armenouhi was known as an effervescent bon vivant as well as a force to be reckoned with. Fluent in five languages, she earned a PhD in French Literature at a time when most women did not even go to college. All knew her as elegant, cultured, poised, outspoken, worldly and artistic. She was a pianist and avid supporter of the performing arts who adored travel, fashion, ostrich feathers, opera length gloves, champagne, and listening to classical music and Charles Aznavour.
Armenouhi was a member of the St. John Armenian Church Women’s Guild in Detroit for over 30 years.
She is predeceased by her husband, Ara Odabachian; her parents, Nazaret and Henazant Kutnerian; and by her brother Kegham who passed just six months ago.
The family will receive relatives and friends for a viewing at St. David Armenian Apostolic Church in Boca Raton on Saturday, May 11th at 11:30am. A requiem service will follow at 12:30pm. Interment will immediately follow at The Gardens of Boca Raton where she will be laid to rest beside her husband, Ara. Hokejash will be held afterwards at Ouzo Bay restaurant at Mizner Park in Boca Raton.
Florida Armenians 