So the person I have decided to interview today is my loving mother! Her earliest memory of music is that it was always in her home, she doesn’t remember a time when there wasn’t. Because of her parent's background, there was usually church and even country music. Her favorite music growing up was, a variety, of little ditty, things like hot cross buns, and Jesus loves me, she did enjoy most, when she was little country music but that was mainly because she grew up in Nashville TN, she was in the original grand ol opry building, this would have also been her very first concerts from ages 0-4. She played many instruments, piano lessons began when she was big enough to know her ABCs and sit at the piano and see the keys, she also played the recorder, the oboe for 4 years, Organ, clarinet, flute, french horn, was in the school band for 4 years, in many choirs in school and in church, she enjoyed some parts and some parts she did not. She listened to music the most at home, church, and school. You could hear music playing all over her school hallways. She heard music everywhere she went, it was like breathing, it was just there. She even heard it in her dreams. As she puts “There was no escape” She had two weddings, at the first one she had her mother sing “One Hand, One Heart” and her father sing “The Lord's Prayer” and her aunt played the organ, she played many traditional pieces of music. At her second wedding, she had one of her nephews complete a playlist of songs that were both her and her husband's favorites and some fun songs as well. Mainly popular 90’s love songs. She ran from music as she grew up and hid from it. She was successful for a short time with this. Her honest opinion of today's music is that she feels like there is no difference between her growing-up music and today, you can tell the ones that just want to be popular for the sake of being popular and the ones that actually know and love music. She can hear songs forms when she grew up and parts where she hears older songs being used still in today’s music. Her opinion on the music I listen to is some are pretty good, while others people are trying to get out their emotions and trying to show everyone their life situations. She also hears a lot of people acting silly. A few songs that got her through tough times were “You’re Vanishing” By Mariah Carey, anything by Liszt, and “I will always love you” and the Whitney Huston cover. Did you have a piano in your house, she did, always, and she still does, it was mandatory.
"One Hand, One Heart" From West Side Story
Storytime- (This is just a very short jist of her story, as her story was very long with a lot of unneeded information about her family)Her story will be in first person, just so it makes more sense to me. From the beginning, my great great great grandfather, Rev Haig Yardumian(Born in Turkey) who lived in Armenia, got a calling from god that he should go to the new world and preach about the lord. Once they did get to the new world Haig started a church, and to this day the church still stands. The church is located in Havertown, Pennsylvania, known as the Armenian Martyrs' Congregational Church. Haig and his family left just shortly before the Armenian Genocide happened. Now during his trip over to the new world, his wife had died on the way. He remarried a woman named Lucia in England and they had a child named Richard James Yardumian(Who would end up becoming her great-great-uncle). Richard would learn some of his beginning music history and lessons from his half-brother Yeghia (Elijah). Now as his family went through Elis Island they were sponsored by the Kevorkian family, He would end up becoming a very known artist in Philadelphia. Anywhere I would go growing up everyone knew who the Yardumians were. Now I had no idea of any of this. So when I went with my parents to the Spoon Man's home for a garden party, I had no idea at the time that this was our family's version of a wake. But while I was sitting just playing with some toys a woman came up to me and asked what my name was, she was in shock and asked me how my piano lessons were going, very confused I said that they were going well. Later in life, I learned who he was and how big of an impact he had in Philadelphia with his music.
Now growing up still in that same area with everyone knowing the name Yardumian, I was in a chorus class. Everyone in the class had to sing the song of our teacher Mrs. Cleghorn chose, now when she got to me she never made me stop until almost the end, by this time in my life I already knew how to read music and watch for the directors cue for me to stop, she stopped playing the piano before I stopped. After she finally told me to stop she pulled me to the front and asked if my name was Rachel Yardumian and of course, I said yes, she then took me to the room next door, now at this time I was in a new school and knew were nothing really was so I was very confused and lost. She took me to her husband Mr. Cleghorn saying I found what you’ve been looking for. He was very confused and said slow down what is happening. She said I found your new Oboe player. At this time I was very very confused. When Mrs. Cleghorn left Mr. Cleghorn was very slow and talked with me. He told me where I was, the band room, and asked if I even knew what the Oboe was, I said no. After this he sent home a paper to my mother asking if I could take free lessons with him, she loved the word free, the only problem was how would I get an Oboe, we did not have enough money for us to just go and buy one, but Mr. Cleghorn told my mom that there was a free one in the band room and that all we would have to buy is the reeds. This started me learning the Oboe. During this time I was still in Chorus and was also in my choir at church. Because of my family, I was made to sing a lot and a lot of solos even though I did not like having the spotlight, I just wanted to be out of sight and sing behind the scenes. Of course, this did not happen. I only got away from music and having to perform when my parent's divorce finally went through and my mom took me and my sisters to Darlington Sc. Where I told my mom if I did not get a piano I would move back in with my father. I still loved playing the piano for my own time and the joy it brought me. No one knew that I could sing or play the piano when we moved so it felt like I could finally hide away from music at this time. But in the end, my cousin Davey sang at our new church and the person who would play the piano for him was sick so I had to, but I would only play it if I could hide away from everyone. But he was very sneaky and ended up sitting right next to me while I was playing, he knew I liked to sing while I played the piano. So the next time I could finally flee and hide away from having to sing or play for others was when I went away to college, but when that did not work out I went up to the outsides of Philadelphia, more specifically Bensalem, I ran away from home. That did not really work out either. But fast forward to the present, I really only play music or sing if it is for fun. If one of my children needs help learning something, or even if it is something as silly as playing the game Rock Band with them. I just want to do stuff that makes me happy, and I finally learned how to say no thanks when people wanted me to play things for them or sing.
Symphony No.1 by Richard Yardumian
