Enoch Gamoian

Born: July 4, 1896 Pazmashen Kharpert | Died: Aug. 19, 1967 Fresno, CA
Active years (recording): 1948-1950s
Label Association: Rec-Art Records, M. Janigian Record Company

Peter Gamoian

Born: Sept. 1, 1925 Northbridge, MA | Died: Oct. 11, 1996 Fresno, CA
Active years (recording): 1948-1950s
Label Association: Rec-Art Records, Sarkisian Record

The history of Armenian recorded music here in America largely revolves around passionate individuals, groups, and families who take it on themselves to perform, record, and share the joy of their music and dance heritage. In 1948 in Los Angeles, the father and son duo Enoch and Peter Gamoian committed to recording a dozen dumbeg and clarinet-driven dance tunes, which have remained staples of the dance repertoire to this day. The Gamoian’s recordings, now almost 80 years old, may be relative rarities but the contribution these musicians made to ensuring the continued practice of these dances within the Fresno Armenian community is notable and lasting. 

Enoch Gamoian was born on July 4th, 1895, in Pazmashen, near Kharpert. After immigrating to the United States in 1913, he settled in Whitinsville, MA, where he worked as a machinist at the Whitin Machine Works. His son, Peter, was born in Northbridge in 1925. By the 1930s, the family had moved to California, eventually settling in Fresno. 

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, both Enoch, a clarinetist, and Peter, a dumbeg player, enjoyed a successful musical career. Between 1948 and 1949 the pair recorded a series of seven records (14 songs) for the Los Angeles-based Armenian-owned record label Rec-Art. On several of these recordings the Gamoians are joined by Harry Parigian on mandolin. Two fundamental dance songs from these recording sessions are included here, Tamzara and Hoy Nar. These discs on Rec-Art are the only commercial recordings the father and son duo made together, though both would continue to perform and record with other musicians in the Fresno area. It seems likely that the recordings were made to some extent to showcase Peter as a dumbeg player, as they seem to be mixed to feature the dumbeg heavily. In any event the recordings seemed to serve Peter well, as in the late 1940s he performed actively both as a drummer as well as in the Karoon Tootikian Dance Troupe.  Around this time he was also invited along with Harry Parigian to record four songs with Reuben Sarkisian and his orchestra, one of which, Anousiges Yeg, is included here. By the early 1950s Peter largely retired from music. In 1955 he married Jane Gamoian while working as an electrical engineer and by the 1960s he joined the Fresno police force. During this time he would occasionally join in as a musician at community events but did not record again.

Enoch, however, continued to work as a clarinetist, performing at cafes, nightclubs, and community events for the rest of his life. In particular he performed consistently in the Fresno-based band led by the vocalist Manoug Janigian, along with violinist Jack Aslanian. It is with this group that Enoch made his only other commercially available recording on Manoug Janigian’s self-titled record label. The group's recording of the tune Hassaget Cheeneare Bes is included here. It was this band that embraced the spirit of generational mentorship which Enoch had already displayed through his work with Peter, when they invited a young Richard Hagopian to play with them. This collaboration not only facilitated the musical development of one of the most respected and prolific Armenian-American musicians of the later half of the 20th century, but the ethos of intergenerational stewardship has carried through in Richard, who has passed this musical lineage down through his sons Harold, Armen, and Kay, as well as grandsons Andrew and Philip, much in the spirit of Peter and Enoch. We hope you enjoy the four Armenian dance tunes presented here, put on record by Enoch, Peter, those in their community and those they fostered, who were dedicated to ensuring the presence of music and dance in the lives of generations to come. 

A special thanks to the SJS Charitable Trust for their generous support of our work to digitize and share our collection of 78 rpm records.