Summer hasn’t looked quite the same in Chevy Chase this year. We miss concerts at Bethesda Blues and Live Supper Club, going to grab ice cream with friends at Sarah’s Handmade Ice Cream and Treats, and catching a movie at the Avalon. But when you live in a neighborhood filled with intelligent and creative people, you figure out how to still have a good time — even in the midst of a pandemic.
Enter Levon Mikaelian. On August 1st Levon and his band (the Levon Mikaelian Trio) treated Rollingwood (a community of over 800 homes in eastern Chevy Chase, Maryland) to a jazz concert from the sage of his front yard on Brooklawn Terrace. The neighborhood joined together — masked but happy — to enjoy the beats of Armenian folk songs as well as Jazz classics.
Levon came to America at the age of 18, immigrating from his home country of Armenia. If you don’t know him by name, you’ll recognize the music school he founded — Chevy Chase Arts Academy. CCCAA is a music school for all ages. They offer private lessons in piano, bass, drum, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, violin, voice, and ukulele. Most importantly, all lessons are customized to the student, as Mikaelian recognizes that everybody learns differently.
At a time when we could all use a little more joy in our lives, we’re grateful for people like Levon and his music school to teach more of our Chevy Chase neighbors connection through music.
As Mikaelian says on the CCAA website,
“I am passionate about teaching music and all forms of creativity. As a parent, I feel humbled and privileged to share my knowledge and talents with children and adults in our community.”
Thank you, Levon. We loved it. When is the next show?
If you missed it, here’s a snippet of the show…
