Echmiadzin’s renovated musical school to open soon

After three years’ repairs, the musical school of the Echmiadzin city will soon open its doors with a completely fresh external design and interior.

Its opening ceremony, held earlier on Sunday, was attended by President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Echmiadzin Mayor Karen Grigoryan, and several other officials.

Mayor Grigoryan praised the state efforts towards assisting in the building’s renovation and thanked the president on behalf of himself and the school’s staff.

Speaking to reporters, the school’s director said their institution, which formerly lay in ruins, may now have no equal across the republic.

“We were afraid lest the children should hit the glasses while running and find themselves downstairs. But thank God, the country leader found a way to help us. The building has been constructed at the expense of the state budget,” Benik Shamiryan said, adding that they now have 293 pupils, of whom 82 were admitted this year.

“I have made inquiries and found that this number doesn’t exist anywhere, not even at the musical schools of Yerevan. This demonstrates that people in our city love music and attend school to learn [music],” he said.

Shamiryan added that the folk, string and wind instruments are taught free of charge thanks to the city’s mayor. He asserted further that they have almost no shortage of instruments.

“There is a problem with just a few instruments,” he said. “We have applied to corresponding people at the Ministry of Culture and asked for their help, if possible.”

After visiting the school, the president and the other high ranking officials laid flowers to a monument built in commemoration of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war heroes.