Badarak Lesson at our Sunday/Armenian School
At the end of January Der Daniel Karadjian asked the Sunday School to host Very Rev. Fr, Mamigon Kiledjian for one Sunday in February, March, and April 2023 to have a one-hour lesson for teaching the Sharagans of the Soorp Badarak. The children that would participate ranged from the 2nd to the 8th grade with some children who had already graduated joining in. In each session, we had 20 to 30 children attending. The question in some of our minds was whether would they truly begin to learn the Sharagans and sing them with a strong voice. For each of the 3 sessions, Hayr Soorp was supported by Dn. Maurice Lahham on a small electronic organ.
The first lesson on February 19th Hayr Mamigon chose to begin this program by teaching the children to sing the Hayr Mer. It was an excellent choice since the children say the Hayr Mer every Sunday at the start of Sunday School in Armenian and English and they know the words if not the music.
Hayr Soorp connected extremely well with the children with his approach of singing each line of the Hayr Mer a number of times and having the children follow him for each of those times. With his kidding around with them and congratulating them when they got it right, we ended up with a well-sung Hayr Mer. He was able to use the Badarak Book of Music that was created by our Diocese and has the Sharagans in music form both in Armenian and transliterated Armenian words with English letters. Some of the older girls after this first session joined the choir at St. Stepanos church.
When we told the children after this first session that there would be another one on March 19th you could see that they were looking forward to it. The third and final session was on April 16. In these last two sessions, Hayr Mamigon taught them various Sharagans such as Soorp Asvadz and Der Voghormya, Der Voghormya. What was surprising to the teachers was how the children responded and how strong their voices were as they sang or as we say in America with gusto.
These 3 sessions have gone so well that at the end of the third session, we began to plan how we would continue this program in the new school year 2023 to 2024. The true reward for this effort will be that the children both female and male would consider participating in the choir when they have graduated from Sunday School.
God Bless Hayr Mamigon in this effort.
