The Second Mahak Music Festival commenced on
Thursday November 29th with a concert conducted by the famous Armenian composer
and conductor Loris Tjeknavorian, who is celebrating his 70th birthday this
week.
The Armenian Chamber orchestra played works by
Khachaturian, Vivaldi and Tjeknavorian himself. The violin soloist was Wolfgang
David from Austria, and a number of Neapolitan Songs were sung by the Armenian
tenor Suren Mkrtchyan. There will be eight concerts on consecutive nights.
The concert was performed in front of a capacity
audience in the amphitheatre of the Mahak hospital.
Mahak is the charity which is devoted to caring for
children with cancer in Iran. They have recently opened a large hospital
complex in Darabad, in the north of Tehran, which has been entirely funded by
private donations. Much of the work for the charity is done by volunteers.
The concert was supported by the Austrian Cultural
Foundation.
Suren Mkrtchyan
Wolfgang David
About Mahak:
About two decades ago a mother who had experienced
having a child with cancer and had witnessed first hand the difficulties faced
by her child, pledged to set up a center that would act as a refuge for children
and their families in a similar situation. With the assistance of the same
friends and relatives who had helped her through her own ordeal, a board of
trustees was selected and MAHAK Society to Support Children suffering from
Cancer was set up as a non profit, non-governmental organization and was
registered under number 6567 in 1991. MAHAK has been active from that day on in
helping children with cancer and their families.
