“Yntaniq Center”: Gyumri Lives On… Spiritual Songs Resurface… Humanity Takes Root

On December 6, the Singing Group of the “Yntaniq” Children and Youth Creative Center of the Ministry of Education and Science participated in the 4th Regional Festival of Spiritual Songs, organized by the Shirak Regional Administration and dedicated to the innocent victims of the 1988 earthquake. The event was held at St. Hakob of Mtsbin Church in Gyumri, with the participation of choirs from music and art schools, children’s and youth centers, and individual performers from across the region.

The purpose of participating in the festival was to introduce the students to spiritual compositions, provide them with opportunities to gain professional experience, and pay tribute to the victims of the devastating 1988 earthquake.

Numerous soul-stirring performances were presented, listened to by the faithful audience. During the festival, the “Yntaniq” Center’s Singing Group, led by Arevik Tanasheyan, performed the spiritual songs “Mother and Virgin,” “The Precious Rose,” and “Today They Rejoice.” The students’ performance was impressive and moving.

On behalf of the Shirak Regional Administration, certificates of appreciation were presented by Hasmik Kirakosyan, Adviser to the Governor of Shirak Province and Honored Cultural Worker of the Republic of Armenia, to the Singing Group of the “Yntaniq” Children and Youth Creative Center of the Ministry of Education and Science and to Arevik Tanasheyan, an opera singer, laureate of numerous international competitions, and head of the Center’s Singing Group.

Hasmik Kirakosyan particularly praised the performance of the newly established Singing Group of the “Yntaniq” Center.

Following the event, the Center’s students and teaching staff offered prayers at the church on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake, lit candles, and laid flowers at the “Renaissance” Memorial.

The students returned home with a renewed commitment—to remember, to pray, to live and create, and to rise again.

All the performances held on the eve of December 7 became a tribute in memory of the innocent victims…

S. Elbakyan