The Institute of Armenian Music was formed towards the end of 1976 specifically to encourage and promote the appreciation of sacred and secular Armenian music and musicians. It was officially inaugurated by His Holiness Vasken I in London on 13 June 1978.
The Charter of the Institute specifies that its aims are to provide grants and scholarships to students for comparative study, research and higher education in Armenian music, to perform Armenian music and stage works and to encourage the performance of Armenian music through the provision of grants for performing organisations, to commission Armenian composers to write original works and to commission non-Armenian composers to write music based on Armenian sacred or secular themes, to collect translate and publish Armenian books on music and to make phonographic records, tapes, video-tapes and films relating to Armenian music, to give grants for the collection of and research into Armenian music and the deciphering of the Old Neume system, to compile and maintain a bibliography of Armenian music and to issue bulletins on Armenian music for use by international music societies, foundations and research organisations, to promote Armenian musicians and artists, and to generally establish a centre for the scholastic and popular furtherance of knowledge of Armenian music.
