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Rafi Topalian began organizing this weekend's concert for the centennial of the Armenian genocide a year and a half ago.

"I had a dream vision for the concert" to memorialize the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I, said Deacon Topalian. "It will be a historic event."

Although Deacon Topalian is deacon and choir director at St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church in Watervliet, the concert will be held at Our Lady of Victory parish in Troy.

The event, scheduled for Oct. 11 at 3 p.m., will feature performers from the Armenian, Catholic, Jewish, Italian and Greek communities, followed by an Armenian-style reception. It's co-sponsored by the Capital District Armenian Genocide Committee (CDACG) and the New York Catholic Chorale (NYCC).

Following a year of "serious planning," said NYCC music director Christian Ritter, musicians and vocalists began rehearsing in June.

"It's been challenging," Deacon Topalian noted, "but it's a labor of love."

Deacon Topalian is also a founding member of the CDACG, a group that educates about the Armenian genocide. Nicknamed the "Singing Jeweler" because he owns Top Custom Jewelers in Watervliet and sometimes sings at public events like Tri-City ValleyCats baseball games, he said that "ever since I was a little kid, I was a performer."

Mr. Ritter called the upcoming concert "very important. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity and the history of Armenia is, therefore, important to all Christians."

The NYCC and the St. Peter Armenian Church choir will perform together. "Adding the Armenian music to this repertoire helps us to broaden our understanding of sacred music," Mr. Ritter said.

Also performing will be a joint choir from St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Schenectady, St. Basil's Russian Orthodox Church in Watervliet and St. Basil's Greek Orthodox Church in Troy; an Italian opera soloist; Jewish singers and others.

Such a diverse group, Deacon Topalian said, points to the fact that the centennial is meant to honor "all survivors and victims from genocide throughout history," although most of the Armenians killed in the WWI genocide were Christians.

"If we don't raise awareness, we are doomed to repeat" persecution around the world, said Deacon Topalian, noting that it is already happening to Mideast Christians today. "The Armenian community knows too well what the ideology of hate can do, and love must conquer it," the deacon said.[[In-content Ad]]

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