Historic Musical Performance at the Luxembourg Embassy in Washington
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Adrienne Haan, an amazing artist from Luxembourg, along with accomplished pianist Richard Danley gave a historic musical performance, hosted by the Luxembourg Embassy, Washington DC in cooperation with the Embassy Series. The dynamic duo kept the audiences enthralled for two consecutive evenings.
Why would the readers of Pakistan Link want to know about this concert? There are many good reasons.
One, HE Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian not only served in Pakistan as her country’s diplomat but also met her husband in Pakistan; she has many fond memories of visiting her friends in Lahore and participating in kite flying during Basant.
Second, the Embassy Series has held a musical concert at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington and its Founder Mr Jerome Barry continues to find opportunities to hold more concerts there.
Third, as you will read further, the concert was to honor the legendary songwriter Irving Berlin, who has a place and stature in US history that would be somewhere between Hafeez Jullundhri and Sufi Tabassum for their contributions to patriotic poems and culturally significant lyrics.
Fourth, the artists: Haan who is such a talented artist that she can win many hearts of Urdu speaking audiences by her creativity; Danley probably doesn’t know Urdu as well but with his spontaneity,the audiences wouldn’t care either.
“The Embassy Series featured a unique performer from Luxembourg in two performances this week: Adrienne Haan, one of finest performers we have ever invited. Her amazing musical and dramatic qualities in a program of the music of Irving Berlin captivated the audience. The hallmark of the Embassy Series is “Uniting people through musical diplomacy” and this was brilliantly executed by the artists, including master pianist Richard Danley. Together with the outstanding cooperation and hospitality of the new Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian and her staff and assisted by Ms Elisabeth Herndler, the attendees were given superb treatment, for the music, for the buffet dinner and kindness and friendship throughout the evening,” commented Mr Barry.
The program which earned accolades from the New York Concert Review on its debut in New York a few days earlier, was designed by Ms Laurence Pierron, Luxembourg Consulate New York City. The New York Concert Review found that Haan, “known as a performer with a flair for decadent Weimar-era cabaret and the like (Brecht/Weill), as well as many other eclectic international programs,” captivated the audiences just like she did in Washington on the memorable evening of December 9 th and 10 th, 2021. Danley is a pianist but on the two evenings entertained the audiences with his masterful voice and theatrical skills.
Until the pandemic brought social life to an abrupt halt, the Embassy Series with the cooperation of the Luxembourg Embassy with a succession of ambassadors held Christmas themed musical events for two or three evenings around holidays in Washington. It was always a packed house. This year, under Ambassador Bintner-Bakshian’s leadership, the year-end tradition continued with skill and dexterity; strict health and safety protocols were followed to keep the virus and disease away.
With the theme of “White Christmas,” the concert was a celebration of the life and music of the legendary songwriter Irving Berlin. Haan performed not just as a singer but also as a historian who told the story behind each song, as she and Danley took the audiences through decades along the memory lane. Barry shared with the audience that he performed with Irving Berlin’s daughter in the very building where the concert was held. “It was Irving Berlin’s daughter, Mary Ellen Barrett and his granddaughter that attended, as well as Ted Chapin, CEO of the Rogers & Hammerstein Corporation. I have photos of her with us,” Barry wrote later.
As in years past, the Luxembourg Embassy invited distinguished guests:
- The Honorable and Mrs. John Tanner, former Congressman of Tennessee
- Ambassador David McKean, former US Ambassador to Luxembourg
- Mrs.Anne L. Howard-Tristani, niece of former US Vice President and Senator Hubert Humphrey
- Mr and Mrs Andrew Ruszkowski, Vice President Business Development for SES
- M. and Mr. Larry Chadwick Nuveen
- M. Jason Jarrell Nuveen
- Sir Richard and Dr Janet Southby, George Washington University Medical Center
- Ms Annie Simonian Totah, Amenian-American Council
- Ms Rhoda Septilici
- Ms Terri Malone, Vice President Northrop-Grumman
Embassy Series staff photographer, Morris Simon used his skills to capture the two evenings for posterity. The photographs from these memorable events are available on FaceBook and Instagram. Earlier in his career, Simon taught architecture in colleges and universities in Malaysia and Indonesia and worked in Africa for the World Bank.
