Singer and Dean of Religious Life Andrea Ayvazian to Perform Songs of Struggle and Freedom

Before coming to Mount Holyoke as dean of religious life, Andrea Ayvazian had a two-decade career as a professional singer.

You're used to seeing Dean of Religious Life Andrea Ayvazian in front of a congregation or in a discussion group, but have you ever heard her sing? One of Ayvazian's previous job titles was "professional singer-songwriter," and she will share those talents with the campus community as the closing act in the spirituality and song series.

On April 14, Ayvazian will perform a concert of original, traditional, and contemporary folk songs in Pratt Auditorium. She will be accompanied by Boston-area pianist Janet Hood, who has toured with Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers and with Holly Near. Ayvazian has performed throughout New England for two decades, and recorded two albums on the Hilltown Records label: Work and Love and Stubborn Hope. Her concerts are participatory, combining Ayvazian's solos with audience singalongs.

Singer Charlie King describes Ayvazian's music as "new songs with strong roots in a grand old tradition. When I hear Andrea sing, I hear echoes of the Weavers and promises of all the good still to come." Singer-songwriter Fred Small says of her work, "Andrea Ayvazian gives us her compelling voice and her songs of hope and courage to rally the weary and feed the spirit."