In addition, that night there was a special guest from Mali who was playing a marimba like instrument, which added an African element to the music. Many different styles of music from three different continents were carefully blended together in a complimenting rather than contrasting way.

Many times when artists mix traditional folk music with modern sounds the end result can be quite disappointing. A spacious, melancholy folk melody that originally possessed a rich spiritual element is mixed with a mindless, non-stop drum machine, all in the effort to make money. I'm happy to say this was not the case with The Armenian Navy Band. The way in which the different genres of music were blended together left the original emotion and content of the music intact, while at the same time adding a whole new element to the overall sound. The proof of the band's artistic integrity was clearly evident by the crowd's reaction. Musician and non-musician, Armenian and non-Armenian, all were enjoying the music.

Birthright does a good job of organizing group activities, whether it is weekend road tips around the country, or midweek get-togethers, the end result is usually entertaining, informative, and educational.

Andre Mansourian (USA),
AVC volunteer and BR/DH participant