FRESNO, CA - The Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble will be following up its highly successful November concert for St. Andrew's Church in Cupertino with a performance in the "Poon Paregentan" Folk Dance Festival at 7 p.m. on February 24, sponsored by Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Fresno.

The Cupertino concert was totally sold out -- a social and financial success for the sponsor.

Several churches across California will be participating in the "Poon Paregentan" Festival and showing off their folk dance groups. The general public is cordially invited to attend and enjoy an evening of traditional Armenian folk dancing.

A month later, the Ensemble will give a concert sponsored by the California State University, Fresno, Center Stage Performing Art Series/USU Productions. This marks the first time that CSUF has had an Armenian ensemble on its Performing Art Series. The concert, slated for Friday, March 30, 2001 at 7 p.m., will take place in Whitfield Concert Hall, Satellite Student Union on the Fresno State campus.

The Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble performs the classical, folkloric, and troubadour musical works of the 16th to 20th centuries - both Eastern and Western Armenian music. Their interpretations of Armenian melodies are performed on a variety of traditional instruments. In 1999, President Robert Kocharian of Armenia invited the Ensemble to present a series of concerts in Armenia and Karabagh. Received with great enthusiasm, it was presented with the "National Gold Medal Award of Armenia," making it the only musical group in the US to receive such an honor from Armenia.

The Ensemble features John Chookasian on clarinet and percussion; Barbara Chookasian as principal vocalist and on percussion; Vergine Alimian on kanun; Henrick Avoyan on dohol; Suren Mekhrabian on tar and oud; Sarkis Petrosyan on santour; and Albert Vardanyan on duduk, shivee and zurna.

The Chookasian Armenian Ensemble currently has available for sale an audio cassette, a compact disc and a video tape of its music. Soon two new live Armenian concert CD's (Vols. 3 and 4) will be available as well. Further information about these offerings, as well as upcoming concerts, of the Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble can be obtained by writing to John Chookasian, 2511 W. Browning Ave., Fresno, CA 93711-2508