The Armenian Music Program at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music provides an in-depth exploration of Armenia’s rich musical heritage, with a focus on its classical traditions. A hallmark of the School’s innovative leadership in music and its commitment to public outreach, through dynamic performances and academic scholarship, the Program has evolved into a vibrant educational platform.

The mission of the Armenian Music Program is to preserve and celebrate Armenian music as an art form. Established in 2013, the Program has presented dozens of outreach performances as well as high-profile public concerts and recordings⁠—including Grammy-nominated Armenian Requiem by Ian Krouse—provided over 30 student scholarships, and built a devoted community of supporters and fans. This Program engages communities of musicians, scholars, and audience members across the UCLA campus, Los Angeles, nationally, and internationally.

A vital component of the Armenian Music Program is the provision of the Introduction to Armenian Music course, aimed at both music and non-music majors to serve as a window into one of the most unique music cultures of the world.

The Introduction to Armenian Music course is a lecture class inviting students to explore the history, tradition, and scope of the music of Armenia. Additionally, the class focuses on a variety of genres and approaches, as well as the interactions between music and culture, society, and history. Students meet for three hours a week; classroom demonstrations of Armenian music are provided by the VEM Ensemble and guest musicians. There is also an emphasis on the evolution of Armenian music within the macrostructure of Armenia’s socio-political and cultural development, as well as the rich history of engagement with other societies near and far. The class ensures that students receive a comprehensive introduction to the kaleidoscopic mosaic that is Armenian music and the complex factors that have shaped its multifaceted texture.

Celebrating the richness of Armenian musical heritage, concentration on greatest composers of Classical tradition, such as Komitas, Khachaturian, Mansurian. Focus on outstanding contemporary Armenian composers and most remarkable performers.

This course explores historical and ethnographic accounts on musical life in and beyond the Mediterranian. Focusing on specific sociopolitical contexts, it studies the role of musical discourse and practices in identity formation in the region and in its multiple diasporas. Throughout the term, we will examine the construction of spaces and subjectivities through music production, consumption, preservation, and exchange. While doing this, we will also develop an intersectional analytical perspective informed by social and critical theory to discuss issues such as politics of aesthetics, knowledge and affect production, community formation, musical ways of witnessing genres of remembrance, musical expressions of dissent. Performance of memory in Armenian music; protest music culture and song bans in Turkey; music and racial justice in Europe; sonic history of colonialism and migration across the Mediterranean; music and social movements in the Middle East and North Africa are topics to be covered in this course.

The Armenian Music Ensemble is devoted to performing the folk music that developed in Armenian oral traditions. In teaching songs, instrumentals, and corresponding dances, this ensemble offers an integrative approach to developing competency in a variety of traditional Armenian forms. Alongside practice, the course addresses some of the important discourses that have shaped the sensibilities of Armenian identity, music, and folklore at large. Students will learn in a participatory environment and are required to practice in groups outside of class. Prior “musical” competency is not required and instruments are welcomed at the discretion of the instructor.

With a mission to engage the community and expand the reach of Armenian music, this program relies on partners at UCLA and beyond. The following partners help this program reach a larger audience and provide philanthropic resources that support this program’s ongoing activities:

• Lark Musical Society
• Tekeyan Cultural Association
• Dilijan Series
• UCLA Armenian Students’ Association
• Creative Armenia
• Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society 
• Armenian Educational Foundation 
• AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School