July 1, 2024 - The South Caucasus News

The “Chookasian Armenian Concert & Folk Ensemble”

John Chookasian, founder and director of the “Chookasian Armenian Concert & Folk Ensemble,” has been inducted into the 2024 Valley Music Hall of Fame in Fresno, and named “Musician of the Year.”

The Central Valley Music Hall of Fame event honoring Chookasian will be held on Wednesday, September 25 at 6 p.m. at the Roger Rocka’s Dinner & Show Theater, located at 1226 Wishon Avenue Fresno, CA 93728. For reservations, call (559) 266-9494.

Chookasian is a first generation American-Armenian born in Manhattan, New York. He formed two Armenian musical groups during his formative years, which performed at several Armenian community events, from Richmond, VA to Providence, RI. He studied Music Education at New York University, graduated and received his BA and MA degrees.

While living in New York, his Armenian bands, “The Hye-lites of New York,” and, later, the “Halvah-Jees” (Candy Makers), which featured master oud player Chick Ganimian. Chookasian, Ganimian, and the Armenian group performed at the renowned Round Table Night Club in Manhattan. Later, the group was hired and booked to perform at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

John and Barbara Chookasia

Chookasian’s parents were born in the historic Western Armenian City of Sepastia (Sivas, Turkey). His parents, Manase and Arshalous, witnessed and survived the 1915 Armenian Genocide, which was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

Chookasian and his wife, Barbara, have been culture bearers who decided to form an Armenian concert ensemble that would perform, preserve and record the many lost or forgotten Armenian songs and dances of Eastern and Western Armenia. During their many travels, they found, transcribed and arranged these nearly vanished, unique Armenian songs, and later performed them on the same stage, in every concert performance.

The Armenian Ensemble recorded these rare, unrecorded Armenian songs for their five CD albums. Presently, these five Armenian albums are located and housed in the Smithsonian Library, in Washington, D.C.

Chookasian’s Armenian Ensemble has performed in concerts, festivals and special events throughout California, across the United States and along the East Coast, as well as Armenia throughout the last 35 years.

In 1999, former President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, personally invited the “Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble,” to Armenia to Conduct a one-month concert and festival tour throughout Armenian and Karabakh.

During the Armenian Ensemble’s last concert in Yerevan’s Grand Philharmonic Concert Hall, Cultural Ambassador, Royland Sharoyan, presented Chookasian with Armenia’s National Gold Medal Award.

In 2006, PBS and Fresno’s Channel 18 filmed the Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble’s performance at California State University, Fresno, and later broadcasted the concert several times, to over a million viewers in California.

Prior to moving to Fresno, Chookasian formed a Middle Eastern group, called “The King Tut Revue.” For over a decade, the group performed successfully in numerous lounge shows, films, conventions, private and corporate parties in several of the major Las Vegas Hotel and Casinos.

Lastly, Chookasian is a professional union actor and has performed in 41 major motion-picture films and TV series.

For further information regarding the Armenian Ensemble can be seen on the website.

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