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Armenia participated as the Country of Honour of 2015 in prestigious international musical festival MIDEM, which took place on 5-8 June in Cannes. Panorama.am correspondent Nvard Chalikyan has conducted a series of interviews with MIDEM organizers and participants.

Below we present to your attention an interview with Cornelia Much – Senior Representative at MIDEM.

The impression Armenia left behind this year at MIDEM was enormous, [it] was fantastic; everybody with whom I’m speaking is absolutely surprised, impressed and has made a huge discovery about Armenia”, - says Mrs. Much sharing her impressions of MIDEM 2015. She says that one of the big strengths of Armenia’s presence at MIDEM was that Armenia showcased not only its music, but also the huge variety of Armenian culture with its different capabilities. She also adds that there is a lot that the world needs to discover about Armenia.

Mrs. Much highlights all the Armenian concerts at MIDEM, and especially the opening ceremony and the cocktail party organized by Armenia, with the participation of Armenian jazz, rock, pop and ethno bands, Armenian dances and an Armenian DJ: this was a party, she says, which MIDEM “hadn’t seen for quite a while”.

As a result of Armenia’s participation at MIDEM, with a big delegation headed by the President of Armenia and with the presence also of the Minister of Culture, many contacts have been established and new projects have been initiated. The President of Armenia for instance met with the President of the Monteux Jazz Festival and negotiations are currently being conducted for possible future cooperation.

Mrs. Much, who has been cooperating with Armenia for many years and is personally well familiar with Armenia’s music sector, also shares her observations regarding the music business scene in Armenia. She notes that in terms of exporting music, Armenia is especially strong at jazz, classical, chamber, choir and ethno music genres, as well as in live concerts.

“The voices you have in Armenia are very exceptional with very special colour”, - she says, mentioning Hover Chamber Choir as one example. She also mentions the founder of modern Armenian classical music Komitas, who she says should be better known by the world.

In terms of music business infrastructure Mrs. Much notes that there are a number of major production companies (such as Sharm Holding, TM Production) as well as excellent recording studios in Armenia. “This might be something interesting to exploit, because recording studios in the Western world are sometimes extremely expensive, [thus] this can be a good business model for Armenia,” – she says. She also notes that Armenia is interesting as a new market, given that everyone is nowadays interested in new markets.

Future steps that she advises to explore are cooperation with foundations, foreign government offices, international publishing houses, labels and recording studios who might be interested in establishing their companies or joint ventures in Armenia. Establishment of an international artist-management company in Armenia, which could ensure exchange between musicians in Armenia and abroad, according to her, would be another great idea. She also mentions that Armenia has many talented artists who need to be supported and promoted.

Mrs. Much is sure that any investment in Armenia’s music sector will definitely pay back.

Mrs. Much thus encourages Armenia to build upon its successful presence at MIDEM. She also advises to do a research for assessing the assets and resources that Armenia has in the field of music, the results of which would be good to present in MIDEM next year.

“It was an absolutely unique experience that we had and I think it will remain a memorable year for all of us… Armenia can be proud of its presence this year at MIDEM”, - said Cornelia Much in conclusion.

Armenia is grateful for Mrs. Much for all her effort and support.

Interview by Nvard Chalikyan

Armenia’s participation in the festival was a part of the Armenian Genocide Centennial events and was sponsored by Pro Art and Tashir Group. Among the Armenian participants were the Armenian State Jazz Big Band, the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia conducted by Sergey Smbatyan, famous cellist Narek Hakhnazarian, Hover Chamber Choir, Katuner ethno-jazz band, Acoustic Colours Quartet, Armenian ethnic jazz and folk music band Miqayel Voskanyan and Friends, rock band Dorians, traditional ensemble Ambassador, DJ Beatman and many others.

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Armenia is the Country of Honour at MIDEM 2015: Interview with Cornelia Much