ARMEN-LEVON MANASERYAN – Pianist

«VITRAGE» International Festival of Music and Art in Brussels

In 2016, in Brussels, Armen-Levon Manaseryan founded the VITRAGE International Festival of Music and Art in Brussels and became its artistic director. Numerous solo concerts, chamber music concerts, exhibitions, and other performances were organized within the framework of the festival. One of the main directions and goals of the VITRAGE festival was the promotion of Armenian music and Armenian culture in the heart of Europe, in Brussels. It was an invisible cultural bridge between Europe and Armenia. After the concerts, where the performance of Armenian music was an unwritten law, the audience, who did not know Armenian culture, went home, having already fallen in love with Armenian music. And after the theatrical performance of the Armenian-Moscow Theater, dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, the audience sat with tears in their eyes. A number of special collaborations made up a big concert with the participation of professors and students of the Tchaikovsky Music School (present: BRIMA, Brussels), who performed works by the winners of the Edvard Mirzoyan Competition for Young Composers (Armenia). Children of different years, as well as their professors, performed works written by young composers. Some works even remained in the repertoire of young performers.Armen-Levon Manaseryan invited guest artists from different countries to perform at the festival, including Grammy-nominated American-Armenian composer Hayg Boyadian (USA), Honored Art Worker of Armenia, cellist Aram Talalyan (Armenia), pianist Julietta Vardanyan (Armenia), saxophonist Harutyun Harutyunyan (France), folk multi-instrumentalist Harutyan Chkolyan (Armenia), Karapetyan Brothers (Belgium/USA), the Armenian-Moscow Theater (Russia), and many other artists and ensembles. Armen-Levon Manaseryan also took part in the festival as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Students from Armenia have always occupied a special place at the VITRAGE festival and have always been welcome guests. Students of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (Armenia) had the opportunity to perform in the center of Europe and see the sights of Belgium. Due to the relocation of Armen-Levon Manaseryan to Germany in 2018, the festival has suspended its activities, but in the future, it is planned to restart the festival. The new edition of the festival will be coming soon and promises big announcements. The concerts were mainly held at the Armenian Culture Center in Brussels and at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Brussels. The concerts were held with the support of the Armenian Embassy in Brussels, the Russian Embassy in Brussels, the Composers Union of Armenia, YerazArt, Music of Armenia (MoA), ANM media, International Competition – Merci, Maestro!, Competition for Young Composers named after Edward Mirzoyan, and the Brussels International Music Academy (BRIMA).