February 24, 2009 - 22:16 AMT
Mariam Matossian is nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards
Canadian-Armenian singer Mariam Matossian is nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards, GreenvilleOnline.com reports. The singer says non-Armenians have been the first ones to truly embrace her music. "They may not understand the words I'm singing, but they love the music." She describes her shows — she has performed at festivals and concerts in Canada and the United States — as storytelling with music. "My grandmother's favorites, I learned from my mother." The subject matter is universal; they are songs that tell of yearning, of homesickness, of love and loss.

Mariam Matossian's first album, the 2004 "Far From Home," is dedicated to the memory of her grandmother, Mariam Der Hovaginian Markarian, after whom she is named. Matossian adds that longing for country is why she named her first album "Far From Home." It received frequent airplay on CBC Radio and was named among the top 25 essential albums of the year by "Echoes," a daily, two-hour radio program hosted by John Diliberto and distributed in the United States by Public Radio International. Her 2007 follow-up, "In the Light," has been equally well received by the public.