30 years on stage: The partnership between Viva-MTS and “Paros” Chamber Choir continues

The anniversary concert of the internationally acclaimed award-winning “Paros” Chamber Choir took place. This unique choir is inclusive: many of the singers are wheelchair users or have various disabilities. The choir which went through a remarkable journey was founded thirty years ago to offer psychological rehabilitation to individuals in wheelchairs.

Today, “Paros” (affiliated with “Unison” NGO) is well-known in the country. For three decades, it has delivered exceptional performances on stages both in Armenia and abroad (Lebanon, Georgia, Great Britain, Italy, Vatican, France, Austria, Slovakia, Latvia, Russia), demonstrating professionalism and determination to overcome challenges through music. Paros sends a message to individuals with disabilities to lead full and creative lives by its own example: art has the power not only to express itself, but also to help to live.

“Our achievements would be impossible without our supporters. The clear proof of this is the victory of Paros in the "Musica Sacra" international competition held in Bratislava in 2011, when Viva-MTS assumed the role of the choir’s main partner. That success was followed by the acquisition of 4 silver medals at the World Choir Games (in 2014 and 2016) and numerous subsequent memorable performances and tours,” said Armen Alaverdyan, the director of “Unison” NGO and Paros Chamber Choir.

The jubilee concert of “Paros” was supported by the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, as well as Yerevan Municipality. The group performed works by Komitas, M. Yekmalyan, H. Odabashyan, G. Orban, and others, and the finale of K. Aprikyan's oratorio “The Birth of David of Sassoon”. The symphony orchestra of the opera, the “Geghard” singing group, the choir of the music school named after A. Tigranyan, “Arevayin Zangakner”, the Artsakh State Choir, and the Artsakh “Mrakats” State Chamber Choir took part in the concert.