Maro Ajemian music during the 1940s, presenting annual concerts in such high-profile venues as Town Hall. These concerts were well reviewed by such critics as Lou Harrison, Virgil Thomson, and Olin Downes, and served to launch Hovhaness into the national spotlight. She died of heart valve failure at the age of 57. Maro Ajemian Maro Ajemian (July 9, 1921 – September 18, 1978) was an American pianist. Ajemian's career in contemporary music grew from her Armenian heritage. She became known as a contemporary pianist after performing the U.S. premiere of Aram Khachaturian's Piano Concerto, which she chose to play based on their
John O'Brien (poet) John O'Brien Festival is held annually in Narrandera. John O'Brien (poet) Monsignor Patrick Joseph Hartigan (13 October 1878 – 27 December 1952) was an Australian Roman Catholic priest, educator, author and poet, writing under the name John O'Brien. Born at Yass, New South Wales Patrick Joseph Hartigan studied at St Patrick's Seminary, Manly and St Patrick's College, Goulburn His poetry was very popular in Australia and was well received in Ireland and the United States. Hartigan died in Lewisham, an inner suburb of Sydney in 1952. Hartigan wrote under the pseudonym "John O'Brien." His verse celebrated the lives and mores