Christmas Concert in Campus

On Wednesday, the 21st of December 2011, at 7:00 PM, the Armenian Catholic Mesrobian High School administration organized in the schoolyard a Christmas concert that was given by the school choir conducted by Manuel Keshishian. There were the president of Armenian Catholic Schools Principals’ Committee H.E. Bishop Hovhannes Teyrouzian, His Excellency Msgr. Vartan Ashkarian as well as other spiritual fathers, respectable guests, teachers, parents, students and friends.

The opening speech was made by the director of the extracurricular activities of the school Garine Tashjian who said « In the next few days, the Christian world will celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ by announcing the good news of the Incarnation and the manifestation of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Armenian Church considers the birth of Jesus as a «great and wonderful mystery», which is right, because it is only through a miracle that it was possible to surround with unlimited eternity the cradle of a newly born infant who became our Lord to be of service to us. We know that the great miracle of God only happened « because the Lord became incarnate for us ». Jesus will soon be born and with his birth He is going to change our lives ». Then, Garine Tashjian continued her speech and called the audience’s attention to the fact that before celebrating Jesus Christ’s birth by singing joyfully, we must stand firm in our faith, so that our songs of praise and prayers of thanks to Jesus will not be senseless. Therefore, at first we must «examine our hearts to see if they need to be purified and we must examine our deeds to see if they are always right, good or beneficent ».

Then, in the name of the school administration, the director of the extracurricular activities of the school gave thanks to the school choir’s conductor Manuel Keshishian for the Christmas concert that was given, thanks to his meticulous and regular work. She also gave thanks to all the members of the choir as well as to the Armenian singer Marine Grigoryan who came from Gyumri, Armenia to Lebanon and participated willingly in the concert by singing two songs. Let’s mention that the pianist Ruzanna Grigoryan, coming also from Armenia, accompanied Marine Grigoryan on the organ.

At the end of her speech, Garine Tashjian wished the audience a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and wished them all « a beautiful, healthy and peaceful new year » as well as « pleasant, enjoyable and unforgettable moments during the concert ».

With more than 20 Christmas songs in Armenian, Arabic, French and English languages, the school choir warmed the hearts of the audience for more than 2 hours. Along with the choir, one of the kindergarten teachers the singer Liza Svadjian and one of the secondary section students Cynthia Arapgirlian sang beautiful songs that touched the audience. In addition, the two songs performed by the Armenian singer Marine Grigoryan captivated the audience.

At the end of the concert, a speech was made by the president of Armenian Catholic Schools Principals’ Committee H.E. Bishop Hovhannes Teyrouzian who welcomed them all and congratulated the administration of Mesrobian High School as well as its active personnel and wished them « an ongoing success ». He also congratulated His Excellency Bishop Vartan Ashkarian on the honoring ceremony that took place the previous day for the services he rendered to the church for 50 years, without forgetting to mention that Mesrobian High School was the sweet home of Father Vartan Ashkarian whose children were the students of Mesrobian who were creating a joyful atmosphere for the audience. And being inspired with the positive impression made by the concert, he wished them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Let’s mention that the Christmas decoration as well as the luminous Christmas tree placed in the centre of the schoolyard and the shining stars on the school building casted a special shadow over the concert.