The tenth anniversary Mesopotamian Night performances in San Jose, California on Saturday, October 7, 2017 proved to be yet another resounding success in a decade of great performances honoring and celebrating Assyrian culture and arts while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Assyrian Aid Society of America’s humanitarian and education projects in north Iraq.

An evening of this scope requires hundreds of hours and many months of hard work by exceptional artists and dedicated volunteers. I must, however, thank conductor John Kendall Bailey, Rabi Yosip Bet Yosip, singer Linda George, composer Reverend Samuel Khangaldy, Treasurer Sargon Alkurge, and Master of Ceremonies Wilbert Odisho, all of whom provided the professional leadership necessary for such an extraordinary accomplishment.

Special thanks must be given to Tony Khoshaba, who not only came up with the original idea for Mesopotamian Night in the AAS-A Central Valley Chapter over ten years ago and founded the project, with the blessing of the AAS-A Board of Directors, but has been the very much hands-on Project Director every single year. It has been my privilege to watch Mesopotamian Night grow in success. Without Tony, none of the Mesopotamian Nights would have been possible.

To borrow Tony’s words, following the October 7 performances, “Thank you to everyone for being part of this journey.”

It certainly has been a great journey for us all. I look forward to where this road will continue to lead us.

Ashur J. Yoseph
President, Assyrian Aid Society of America