The Anahit Tsitsikyan Music School is one of very few music schools in Yerevan, which are located outside of the city center and serve mostly the local community. The school’s recital hall was recently renovated by the U.S. Embassy’s organization Helping Hands and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia. The school now has a beautiful performance space. It also has tremendously dedicated students and staff. What could be missing? Instruments!

To be able to study wind instruments students must rely on the space and resources of their school. While instruments like pianos and violins and a drum-­‐set have been accessible to dozens of students the past several years, wind instruments such as clarinets and flutes, among others, are lacking at the school and most students are unable to afford to purchase their own. Some students own the instruments, but the school itself doesn’t have those to provide to the other students in need. The Tsitsikyan school needs a few wind instruments to be accessible to its students. The instruments they’ve deemed as the highest need are trumpets, flutes, clarinets and saxophones so that the students have more diversity and opportunity in their musical studies and so they are able to dive into the learning process as soon as possible. This is why Ayo! is now seeking to secure funds to purchase them, which will allow these kids to fill their new superior space with superior sounds for many years to come.

In addition, the school’s newly renovated recital hall lacks chairs for an audience. To fill the performance space 120 chairs are required to ensure seats for all the guests of recitals. One of the key elements of the students’ education is their ability to perform. Offering a space where their family members and others can gather to watch them play is an asset for their community. Contributing to their society through music and dedication to the arts will also further empower these kids and boost their confidence.

This is a project with multi-­‐faceted benefits. By supporting this Ayo! project you can play an active role in strengthening education and exposure to the arts in Armenia, and you can help to empower the next generation. This in turn will help to create richer communities and culture.