During the month of April 2013, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the
Kalaydjian Foundation organised a series of concerts entitled “A musical
journey through Armenia and Italy”. The concerts featured the world-renowned
Armenian soprano Sona Gargaloyan, who has performed to standing
ovations in opera houses throughout Europe, and the young and
highly promising baritone Alex Moskofian, who made his debut with a
string of arias and other solos.



Upon an invitation extended by the Kalaydjian Foundation, famed
Armenian conductor Vardan Hakobyan agreed to take the lead role and
act as conductor of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, an arrangement
which ensured that the orchestra’s musicians were properly instructed
on how to perform the rhythmically complex Armenian compositions.

The concert programme included overtures from the operas La Forza del
destino, Nabucco and La traviata, excerpts from the Armenian operas
Anush and Arshak II, and, – most eagerly anticipated of all – arias
and romantic songs by the acclaimed Soviet Armenian composer Arno
Babajanyan, whose seductive melodies repeatedly lifted the audience to
their feet.

The collaboration between the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the
Kalaydjian Foundation resulted in two exceptional concerts being
performed, the first one at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol on the 11th
of April, and the second one at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre in the
capital city on the 12th. The concert in Nicosia was particularly
well-attended, with more than 500 enthusiastic music-lovers (including
the mayor of Strovolos and the Italian ambassador) filling the
magnificent concert hall and delivering rapturous ovations.

The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation was founded in 2006 with the
aim of developing and promoting the art of orchestral music, improving
musical education in Cyprus, and encouraging the involvement of
society in musical activities.

The Kalaydjian Foundation is a non-profit benevolent organisation set
up in 1984 with the purpose of helping disadvantaged and needy members
of society, with a major focus being on the Armenian community in
Cyprus. In addition to providing vital services to senior citizens and
financial support to talented students, the Foundation also promotes
and sponsors the development of culture and the arts in Cyprus.

The Committee of the Kalaydjian Foundation