Shoghaken Folk Ensemble, The
The Shoghaken Ensemble, founded by Gevorg Dabaghyan in 1991, has become one of the preeminent traditional music ensembles in Armenia. Dedicated to rediscovering and continuing Armenia's extraordinary folk music history, the group presents music from a broad geographical and historical span using traditional instruments and song styles. The ensemble has performed extensively in Europe, Armenia and throughout the former Soviet Union. The group recently performed on the soundtrack of Atom Egoyan's movie Ararat. In the summer of 2002 Shoghaken performed at the Smithsonian Folk Festival in Washington, DC, and in the spring of 2004 the group performed in an 18-concert tour across the US, including concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Symphony Space in New York and the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, as well as Harvard University, Cornell University, UC Berkeley and Dartmouth College. Their recording Armenia Anthology (Traditional Crossroads CD 4311) won the AFIM/NARM award for best world music recording of the year in 2003.
Role: Performer