Public lecture
   

Between Tradition and Transformation

Contemporary Tendencies in Armenian Folk Music


Between Tradition and Transformation
20 mai 2026   7:00 PM
St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church
19300 Ford Rd, Dearborn MI 48128
Michigan - United States

Armenian folk music changes continuously, reflecting the ways people live. This talk traces a journey from earlier times—when songs accompanied daily work—to the present, focusing on Armenia and Armenian diasporic contexts. Drawing on her fieldwork, Dr. Tatevik Shakhkulyan will share stories of songs forgotten, rediscovered, and transformed, reflecting on their relation to the legacy of Komitas (1869–1935), the famous priest, ethnomusicologist, and composer, widely regarded as the founder of the Armenian national school of music.

Dr. Tatevik Shakhkulyan is an ethnomusicologist specializing in Armenian musical traditions, with a focus on the legacy of Komitas. She is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and teaches at the Yerevan State Conservatory. She also develops educational programs at the KAYT Cultural-Educational Hub and is the author of both scholarly and accessible works.

Light refreshments will be served.

Organized by the Armenian Research Center, University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Contact: +1 313-593-5181 | gottenbr@umich.edu | www.umdearborn.edu/arc