The highlight of Kessab Culture Day, June 3, 2026, was a performance by the Giligia Choir of the Hamazkayin Kessab “Hamo Ohanjanian” Branch. Held under the auspices of the Archbishop Magar Ashkarian, Prelate, and organized by the branch executive board, the event followed the opening of the chapter’s new center. It took place at the “Sardarabad” Hall, in the presence of Kessab Armenians and Aleppo Armenians.
The choir, after only fifteen days of painstaking work, presented a colorful bouquet of Armenian folk, troubadour, and national songs, along with Arabic songs, under the artistic direction Kayaneh Simonian-Derian, who also accompanied the choir on the piano.
Who attended the concert? The prelate; the Very Rev. Manoug Barikhanian; the Very Rev. Yesayi Eortekian, the parish priest; the Very Rev. Karnig Hovsepian, representative of the Armenian Catholic Church; representatives of the Hamazkayin central and regional executive boards; the branch executive board; members of the Responsible Body; members of the Prelacy’s National Representative Assembly; the mayor of Kessab; representatives of associations, and other invitees.
Kessab being is a fragment of historical Cilicia, the choir opened the concert with the anthem Giligia (Cilicia).
Lili Kazazian delivered opening remarks: “This beautiful moment is not simply a musical gathering, but also a communion of souls, a union of hearts, and a celebration of culture. Such evenings remind us how important it is to stay together, to applaud one another, and to keep our culture and song alive.”
In the first section of the program, the choir performed Yegeghetsin Haygagan (The Armenian Church), Yis Mi Gharib Brbuli Bes (I’m like a wandering nightingale), Yis Ku Ghimaten Chim Kidi (I don’t know your value), Kamancha, Ambi Dagits (From under the cloud), Hampartsoum Yayla, Ov Sirun Sirun (Oh beautiful, beautiful), Bardezum Vart er Patsvel (A rose had bloomed in the garden), Zepyuri Nman (Like a zephyr), and a medley of Arabic songs by Ziad Rahbani.
