Folk Singer Hasmik Harutyunyan Preserves Armenian Musical Heritage

Hasmik Harutyunyan, a folk singer born in Yerevan in 1960, has dedicated her career to preserving Armenian musical traditions, particularly Western Armenian lullabies. After joining the Agunk Ensemble in the 1980s, she co-founded the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble in 1991 and later moved to the United States following her marriage. Her 2004 album "Armenian Lullabies" received praise from The New York Times. Harutyunyan has performed at venues including Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Festival and created a children's ensemble to teach traditional songs. She views her work as archiving music nearly lost to the Armenian Genocide and building cultural bridges between younger and older generations. Her performances at senior centers demonstrate music's power to reconnect listeners with childhood memories and homeland identity.