Michigan Composer Plans Performances Communicating Against Genocide

· May 12, 2025

Suzanne Chessler

The Detroit Jewish News

Armenian Trilogy: Expressions of Love, Hope and Hate will be presented starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14.

His Michigan-centered company, Yessian Music, provides melodies for international firms, with programming from Disney to Ford, and he has long thought of the ways music reaches the heart.

Yessian has further wanted music to reach the hearts of people who have known cruelty, and he wrote a symphony to express the saga of the Armenian people in his heritage. He has spoken at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills to advance understandings.

Wanting to raise funds to educate the musical leanings of young people in rural Armenia, he is planning an entertainment program that includes his music supplemented by film and commentary.

In support of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), which brings programming to Armenian youngsters, he is presenting a well-performed program starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at the Steinway Piano Gallery in Commerce Township. The program is titled “Armenian Trilogy: Expressions of Love, Hope and Faith.”

“I was honored to be asked to introduce a screening of the documentary film Symphony of the Holocaust at the Zekelman Center a few months ago,” said the award-winning Yessian, who composes at a home baby grand piano once owned by composer-performer Burt Bacharach.

“The Holocaust Center invited the filmmakers, including the daughter of the subject of the film, Shony Braun, and an Armenian violinist, Erik Ghukasyan, to play an excerpt from Braun’s composition.

“My producer, Ohad Wilner, and I took part in the event, and it was very emotional. We don’t have to imagine the horrors that Shony Braun faced because they are well documented in films, books and records kept by the Nazis. But the music of the symphony gives us a glimpse into the emotions that he felt facing these horrors. The Germans spared his life temporarily because of his violin prowess, and perhaps that speaks to the power of music.”

The May 14 event speaks to the power of Yessian’s composition of The Armenian Trilogy, his symphony marking the centennial of the Armenian genocide that decimated people in the years starting with 1915.

Singers Kenny Watson, Nancy Ingles and Justin Noroyan will be joined by pianist Chris Plankser and Kimberly Kennedy, assistant concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The technical work is being done by Wilner, a musician and technician who has worked with Yessian for a number of years. The program at the Holocaust Center and this event have made him more sensitive to the impact of music on the atrocities suffered by people in Armenian and Jewish communities.

“When Dan appeared at the Holocaust Center, that was very inspirational for him and me,” said Wilner, who performs on a number of instruments in addition to doing production and administrative work. “It inspired us to put together this event in its current format.

“My family is Israeli, and I speak fluent Hebrew. Judaism is part of my everyday existence. Everyday incidents of antisemitism weigh heavily upon me.

“I had Armenian friends in school, and I’ve learned a lot about the genocide experiences of the Armenians and the Jewish people. I’ve come to appreciate the Armenian cause. Dan’s movie and symphony have brought everything into focus for me.”

Adding to the sentiments expressed in the music and film will be comments by broadcaster Chuck Gaidica and Pastor Emeritus Father Garabed Kochakian of St. John Armenian Church in Southfield.

Presenters offer reminders of how Hitler referenced the Armenian genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire as he perpetrated Nazi atrocities.

“I have a great appreciation for the Detroit-area Jewish community,” Yessian said. “In my teens, I played a lot of music for weddings and bar mitzvahs. Many of my colleagues and closest friends over the years are Jewish. My producer Ohad is American-Israeli and has been a vital part of my projects for over a decade.

“Music serves as a great bridge between people and cultures, and I hope that my music can serve as part of that bridge.”

Details

Armenian Trilogy: Expressions of Love, Hope and Hate will be presented starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at the Steinway Piano Gallery, 2700 E. West Maple Road, Commerce Township. $150 base price. Givebutter.com/armeniantrilogy.