An Armenian oud player will take stage in a Turkish city to help disabled people.
Armenian oud player Ara Dinkjian will give a concert at Istanbul’s Hagia Eirene Museum on September 26 for the Turkish Disabled Association.
Dinkjian will donate the income of the concert for construction of a hospital for disabled people.
“My grandfather migrated from (southeastern Turkish province of) Diyarbakir to France in the early 19th century,” Dinkjian told an exclusive interview with A.A correspondent.
Dinkjian said his father was adopted by a family as he lost his parents when he was very young, and therefore his father did not know why they migrated.
“My father then went to the United States, and I was born in New Jersey in 1958,” he said.
Dinkjian said he had no relatives in Diyarbakir, where he visited for the first time five years ago.
“My father used to deal with music, and I used to play my father’s oud secretly and learned how to play it by myself,” he said.
Dinkjian said he played drum to an audience when he was five, which he defined as one of his first experiences.
“I am an Armenian and an American, and I am inspired by the Armenian music, Anatolian melodies and the American blues,” he said.
Dinkjian’s biggest dream is to give a concert in Diyarbakir.
“If I give a concert there, I will feel as if I return home,” he said.
Dinkjian said music showed people how similar they were, but some bad forces wanted to divide people.
“I do not discriminate people as Turkish, Armenian or American, but just assess them as human beings,” he said.
Turkish folk music performer Erdal Akkaya will accompany Ara Dinkjian during the concert “Kokler ve Dallar” (Roots and Branches).
Ara Dinkjian is best known as the founder of the highly influential and groundbreaking instrumental group, NIGHT ARK, which recorded four CDs. His compositions have been recorded in thirteen different languages by top singers and musicians throughout the world (including Eleftheria Arvanitaki of Greece and Sezen Aksu of Turkey), proving that music is indeed the international language. His hit “Homecoming” (Dinata Dinata) was performed at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Dinkjian is also considered one of the top oud players in the world. He was chosen to represent the Armenians in the international oud festivals of Jerusalem and Thessaloniki. Ara Dinkjian uses La Bella oud strings.
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