Olga Petrosyan Father and Mother Ivan & Violet Petrosyan

It was the day before Valentine's Day, and Putnam Rotarians today enjoyed a special treat as Olga Petrosyan serenaded the group with "songs of love."

The concert today marked the third repeat performance by the Armenian prodigy from Volgograd who overcame all odds to win a college degree in vocal performance.

Mentored by author and lecturer Chet Marshall, Olga has performed for numerous churches and civic groups both locally and across the country.

Her father Ivan has accompanied her previously in visits with Putnam Rotary, but today her mother Violet was there too, and also Olga's new husband, David, a native of Denmark.

Father Petrosyan sang some songs in Russian while his wife gave an English translation:

"I miss you so much when we are apart.
I want to sing to you of things you have never seen,
To sing to you of places you have never been . . . "

He met his wife while she herself was working as a professional singer. "We were destined," he told the group.

"Before we married I had a bushy head of hair. She touched my head. Now, you see!" he laughed pointing to his balding crown.

"Relationships can change with marriage," he told the group. "When a star falls out of the sky, you have to make a wish. Always I wish that wife is happy. When wife is happy, children are happy. Family is happy."

The Petrosyan family came to know Christian love through the work of missionaries in Volgograd.

"Valentine is about love," says Olga, "and the only real description of love is found in the Bible.

"Love can work miracles," she said.