Armenian Teen Bell Choir

 

Oksana Dragan

On January 5th, Armenians around the world - including the approximately one and a half million Armenian-Americans living in the United States - celebrate Christmas Eve. At St. Mary's Armenian Church, one of Washington, D.C.'s two Armenian churches, Christmas Eve services are embellished¹ by a teen bell choir² that performs both American and Armenian Christmas music.
There are ten teenagers in St. Mary's bell choir. All but two of them were born in Armenia and immigrated³ to the United States with their families within the last ten years. Choir director Leon Khoja-Eynatyan says participating in the group keeps the teenagers connected to their Armenian roots.
“They learn, first of all, they learn the Armenian liturgy⁴, we don't just play the music part, we also learn the words - we don't use them, but we learn the words because we need to know the text for better understanding of the music, and we play a lot of Armenian folk music.”
During the Christmas season, the bell choir performs seasonal⁵ music in church, and also holds concerts to introduce American audiences to Armenian carols.
Mr. Khoja-Eynatyan's 15-year-old daughter Tatevik is a member of the choir. She says she loves both the musical and the social aspects of bell ringing.
“It's lovely, it's fun. I don't know - just the atmosphere of it all. I like the people. I love the group.”
Tatevik, who plans to be a psychologist when she grows up, says she wants to retain her Armenian culture and identity.
“Oh, all the way. I mean, I've been Armenian since I was born, so that would kind of make that… Well, I mean, there's like an Armenian community here, and that helps. Like, you're not alone.”
In addition to playing bells, Tatevik Khoja-Eynatyan is also a percussionist⁶, and usually the featured drummer during the bell choir's rendition of one of America's favorite Christmas songs, The Little Drummer Boy.
Another member of the choir is sixteen-year-old Seda Ambarzumian, who immigrated to the United States eleven years ago. Although she says she loves living in America, Seda also wants to retain her Armenian identity.
“I definitely do, because I think it's a very important part of my life right now, to be able to say that I'm Armenian and to stand up for my Armenian beliefs. And I want that to continue on in generations for my family, also.”
Seda says one of the things she appreciates most about the United States is its ethnic⁷ diversity.
“I like that it's a sort of melting pot of different cultures, and I like how everyone can preserve their culture while not living in their homeland.”
Seda Ambarzumian says that her American friends at school respect her for maintaining her culture in the American melting pot.
“They're very supportive of it, because I always drill it into their heads, and I started an Armenian club at my school, so it's kind of hard for them not to notice.”
While the members of the teen bell choir go to American schools and have many American friends, Seda says in their free time they tend to gravitate to activities with other young Armenians.
“We have ACYOA juniors club, which is just teenagers that are Armenian, and we participate in different things such as Bible readings, and hold different events, and also we have different Armenian activities. Different artists come and visit, and different people showing their talents. I like to do as much Armenian activities as possible.”
Among the numbers performed by the Armenian teen bell choir is another seasonal favorite, the Carol of the Bells, based on a traditional Ukrainian Christmas carol.
注释：
Christmas Eve 平安夜
teen bell choir n. 青少年手钟团
liturgy [5litE(:)dVi] n. 礼拜仪式
folk music 民俗音乐
carol [5kArEl] n. 欢乐的歌，颂歌
identity [ai5dentiti] n. 身份
percussionist [pE5kQFEnIst] n.［音］打击乐器乐手
rendition [ren5diFEn] n. 表演，演唱
ethnic [5eWnik] adj. 人种的，种族的
diversity [dai5vE:siti] n. 多样性
melting pot 熔炉
gravitate [5^rAviteit] v. （受）吸引
Ukrainian [ju(:)5kreinjEn] adj. 乌克兰的

1 embellished   

v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

2 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

3 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

4 liturgy   

n.礼拜仪式

参考例句：

• A clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.一名牧师照着祈祷书念祷文。
• The mass is the church a kind of liturgy.弥撒是教会的一种礼拜仪式。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 percussionist   

n.打击乐器演奏者

参考例句：

• She overcame her deafness and eventually became a successful percussionist. 她克服了耳聋的毛病，最后当了打击乐队敲打手。 来自辞典例句
• For many years I practiced these techniques as a professional percussionist in jazz and new music. 许多年来作为一个职业的爵士乐和新音乐演奏者我不断实践着。 来自互联网

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。