On May 24, The Windrose popular Armenian band will perform in Yerevan on the margins of a big concert timed to the Europe Day.
The band was created about a year ago and has given nearly 100 concerts so far. The Windrose plays mostly European folk music, particularly, Celtic and Scandinavian tunes. Here one can hear songs in ancient Swedish, Norwegian, English, and French. The Windrose has dozens of compositions in its repertoire, specifically, Scottish, Irish, Breton music, as well as Welsh songs.
The Windrose line-up features Margarita Mkrtchyan (violin), Arthur Atayan (pipe, violin), Ani Serobyan (vocals), Telman Papikyan (guitar), Arthur Poghosyan (drums, Irish timbrel). The sixth member of the band, Mika Hovhannisyan (jaw harp), joined the army in summer 2013.
"We have chosen the name of the band (The Windrose) as a symbol of maps and traveling. Actually, the music we play is a traveling across the countries, cultures and customs", Arthur Atayan says to ArmInfo. He says that the band members prepare the repertoire together. "We thoroughly prepare for the performance of each composition. All of us bring something of our own skills to the band. For instance, Arthur Poghosyan is a specialist in ancient languages, he transcribes the lyrics for us so that we can utter the words correctly", says the musician.
The first concert of The Windrose took place in late April 2013. Now the band has an army of fans. It also takes part in benevolent events. Furthermore, The Windrose cooperates with the British Embassy, which invites the band to its events. For instance, The Windrose participated in the British Days in Armenia and on May 24 the band will take part in a concert in Liberty Square on the margins of the Europe Day.
As regards the creative ideas of the band, Atayan points out, "We have numerous plans. We want to perform Armenian folk music and the folk music of North American Indians, for instance".