paul chaderjian

by Paul Chaderjian September 14 2002 San Francisco, California - Center stage at the 900-seat Herbst Theatre in the heart of the City by the Bay, Nune Yesayan, Armenia's pop diva, effortlessly romanced her audience with great passion and grand emotion on Sunday night.  "The concert was amazing," said 30-year-old Cory Shakarian, who stood in suit and tie in the lobby of the War Memorial Performing Arts Center after the concert, observing several hundred people waiting for autographs and photographs. "Nune's voice was captivating and mesmerizing. She captured the audience's attention with her soothing voice and brought them to their feet with joyful bursts of energy." Under the gleaming spotlight of the most elegant and intimate stage in San Francisco, Nune's presence permeated from center stage to the last row of the balconies, enveloping her diverse audience in the essence of Armenian culture and history. Enjoying Nune's renditions of Armenian f...

Book review by Paul Chaderjian (2002) Viken Berberian's “The Cyclist” takes readers to places they've never been in fiction and in literature, while entertaining and challenging their intellect and emotions. Berberian offers the reader insight into a geographically and intellectually foreign world, which is now part of our post-9-11 reality. Berberian does this while questioning and challenging us to philosophically examine what it is to be human, live in a divided community, and what we want of our collective global reality. Berberian's story begins with a simple question many have asked and wondered: what happens to those who live in a continuous state of trauma in embattled communities and war-torn countries? Berberian asks, how does one cope with life in a divided society, where neighbors are now enemies, where populations are victims of terrorism, where people live with the threat of terrorist attacks? His answer is a lyrical and creative glimpse i...

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...