paul chaderjian

By Paul Chaderjian August 25, 2002 (Irvine) - Onnig Zerounian dreams big. Call him a visionary, an entrepreneur, a dreamer. Zerounian thinks big, and he has a keen sense of success. These days, aside from planning when he'll see Armenia's most successful pop star perform in the US, he is thinking about the possibility of a "Silicon Valley East" in Armenia. As much as Zerounian likes the idea of Nune -- a 21st century Armenian minstrel, who travels the globe and sings her people's music the masses -- he is equally enamored with the idea of a bustling, 21st century industrial region near Yerevan. Silicon Valley East would eventually be home to a dynamic cluster of internationally competitive businesses, manufacturing electronic boards, computers, conductors, hardware and software. When Zerounian was invited by the Armenian government to bring his ideas and proven business practices to the homeland, he accepted. As owner of the respected and well-known Southern Calif...

By Paul Chaderjian Aug 20, 2002 Fresno – Popular Armenian recording star Nune Yesayan will make her return to Fresno television this Sunday, August 25th at 8:00pm on KVPT TV 18, Central California's PBS affiliate (Cable 8). The KVPT "Nune Special" will feature the performer's two most recent music videos and performances from her recent concert in Armenia called "NY for NY" (Nune Yesayan for New York). The solidarity concert in May was dedicated to the victims of the September 11th terror attacks against the US. "I wanted to send a message to New York that we Armenians know what it's like to lose thousands of our loved ones," said Nune. Believing in the message of the "NY for NY" concert, nearly 6,000 Armenians from Yerevan and the Armenian Diaspora attended the May concerts at the Hamalir Stadium in Yerevan. "Armenians have suffered similar pains, different in nature, of course, but that's why we can relate much easier to th...

By Paul Chaderjian August 1, 2002 Fresno – The Armenian Community School will kick off the school year with a benefit concert featuring internationally-popular Armenian recording and performing star Nuné (NOO-neh). The fundraiser featuring Nuné will take place on Saturday, September 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the Tower Theatre in Fresno -- one week before Armenia's pop diva appears in concert at the Kodak Theatre in  Hollywood. After the Southern California performance, Nuné will perform in San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Montreal. "When I heard Nuné was planning a tour," said Armenian Community School principal Rosie Bedrosian, "I asked her managers if she would consider performing in Fresno to help us out again. Nuné agreed, and we can't think of a better way to kick off our school year. We're very excited." "The Nuné Phenomenon is new a one for the Armenian Diaspora," said publicist Houri Vartanian. "At ...

by Paul Chaderjian June 29, 2002 YEREVAN--Talented French star Patrick Fiori joined Armenian diva Nune Yesayan on stage at the Hamalir Stadium last weekend for an unforgettable concert melding French and Armenian cultures. Nearly eight thousand fans attended the sold-out show, buying tickets weeks in advance. "This was Patrick's first concert in his ancestral homeland," says Nune. "He felt very welcomed, very connected, and he wants to come back again." The 34-year-old Fiori was born in Marseille to an Armenian father and Corsican mother. He made a name for himself by performing with the opera at the age of 13 and winning a television talent show in his late teens. "One of his most popular songs all over Europe is 'Belle' from the musical 'Notre-Dame de Paris," says Nune. "Patrick recorded the CD, and it became a hit. He also sang on the French soundtracks of 'Mulan' and 'The Prince of Egypt.'" Nune and Fiori perfo...

by Paul Chaderjian June 29, 2002 (Yerevan) - Since the launch of Nune Radio on the Internet in December, 2001, nearly 500 listeners, every month, point and click to the Nune Radio link from www.nune.am to hear Nune's music. Listeners are also treated to rare interviews with the superstar and music from other Armenian artists, 24-hours-a-day and seven-days-a-week, all for free. "Everyone you know is on the Internet, " says Nune. "Young people are Internet and e-mail experts in Armenian families, and I see them teaching older relatives because it is a great tool to keep in touch, to learn and be entertained." The audio entertainment offered on Nune Radio through the Internet has had an overwhelmingly positive response, according to Houri Vartanian with "Friend of Nune," the official Nune fan club. "Friends of Nune" funds and operates Nune Radio. "We launched Nune Radio at a standard bitrate connection, so that everyone who access the Inter...

By Paul Chaderjian May 25, 2002 Yerevan, Armenia - Unprecedented, unexpected and unbelievable were a few of the words used to describe last weekend's Nune Yesayan musical stage production called "NY for NY - Armenia for America." Locals and tourists alike were amazed at the caliber and high quality of the show that involved more than five hundred actors, dancers, musicians, singers and crew members. The overwhelming enormity of the Broadway-like musical and the talent showcased in this grand stage production left the six thousand who attended the show in disbelief. Many, including the Republic's first foreign Minister Raffi Hovanissian, were surprised that the local art community could envision and effortlessly execute such a grand, professional and entertaining theatrical production. Hovanissian reacted by simply saying it was "unprecedented." "The production we created was like a living movie for us," said Hrand Vardanyan, the director of the sho...

By Paul Chaderjian May 20, 2002 (Yerevan) - The largest group of artists assembled in Armenia this year are spending long hours in preparation for what organizers are calling 'a Spartacusian Spectacular.' This extraordinary concert, called "NY for NY", is creation of Armenia's most popular entertainer, Nune Yesayan, and it will be dedicated to the memory of the victims of the attacks against the US last September. Yesayan has hired nearly 150 actors, dancers and singers, who are now in rehearsal to master their roles, learn their choreography, speak their lines, sings their songs and sound their instruments in unison, like a finely tuned philharmonic of 150 voices. Together, with the help of nearly 50 technicians, audio specialists, stage managers and stage hands, these artists in their prime will create a world of magic, music, dance and drama. "NY for NY"(Nune Yesayan for New York) will take place on Friday and Saturday nights, May 24th and May 25th at...