German Educational and Cultural Centre in Funded by the European Union Return Fund (Deutsches Lehr-und Kulturzentrum in Armenien)

The German educational and cultural center was founded due to the initiative of Goethe Institute (Munich) in on June 26, 1992. It was legitimized by the Ministry of Education and Science (N M - 157 from 26.06.1992 ) on June 28, 1994. The Centre is registered at the Ministry of Justice (Order N 31/2-33 from 28.06.1994) as well.

Branches up to 2010:

Artashat, Artik , , Eghegnadzor, , Martuni, Sevan, .

The Centre is active in the following fields:

1. Language Courses

The courses are targeted at all age levels from children over adolescents to adults , as well as members of the German community in Armenia. There are courses for several competence levels for beginners, as well as advanced training level. Furthermore, the centre also offers options for individual counseling and tutoring.

2. Teacher training

The teacher training consists of language and cross-cultural workshops, as well as network seminars, didactic-methodological seminars. There are options for part-time courses as well as correspondence courses for German language educators. At the end of the part-time courses, the participating teachers received international certificates that they were given the right to teach German in Armenia and abroad, almost anywhere in the world.

3. Competitions in German Language Competence ('Deutscholympiaden').

Competitions in use of the taught German language are held in three rounds every year: at school, on regional and national level. By tradition, the grand opening of the competitions is accompanied by performances of a local choir (Ave Maria) established at the Centre, or a musician quartet (ART-piano quartet). The event is organized with the active participation of representatives of the German Embassy and German organizations in Armenia.

4. Preparation and publication of educational materials:

The various publications of the German educational and cultural centre consists of the annual magazine "Deutsch in Armenien" (from 1995 to 2002), exam tests for the 8th grade students (Yerevan 1997), a German language Introduction for Elementary school pupils('Meine ABC - Fibel'), a publication on the Alphabetisation in a foreign language (' Alphabetisierung in der Fremdsprache,' Jerewan 1999), A German language schoolbook (' Unsere Fibel Deutsch', Jerewan 2000, 2002), and school dictionaries German-Armenian (Augsburg, Germany 1998) as well as Armenian-German (Augsburg, Germany 2000).

5. Cultural Program

The German Children's Theatre under the direction of art director Ruzanna Margun made the performances of the plays "Aschenputtel" (Cinderella), "Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten" (The Town Musicians of Bremen), and "Sing the Alphabet"(Singing the alphabet), a music revue with music by Areg Lusignan and text by Armine Hovhannisyan.

In August 2001, a recording "Singing the alphabet" was performed in Lucerne (Switzerland) at the XII German teachers World Congress.

6. German Chamber Choir, and Musical Programs

In 1997, the German Chamber Choir "Ave Maria" has performed to the accompaniment of the German organist Karsten Vibush .The program consisted of the works by Bach, Mozart, Händel , Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann , Komitas and other composers.

The German Chamber Choir annually participates in music festivals organized by the boards of national minorities.

The Piano Quartet 'ART Klavierquartett' was founded in 1997 at the German educational and cultural center. Since 2005, the quartet performs under the auspices of the Brusov state university.

The quartet consists of professional and experienced musicians:

Angelica Harutyunyan - piano

Carmen Tosunjan - violin

Yana Daryan - viola

Aram Talalyan - cello

Head Quartet is Angelica Harutyunyan, associate professor of Yerevan State Conservatory 'Komitas'.

From its foundation in 1997 to the present day, the quartet regularly performs in concerts and thus promotes classic European music, especially the works of German and Austrian composers in Armenia. Thereby the musicians are promoting the development of contacts between Armenia and German- speaking countries and facilitate a cultural exchange. Over the years the musicians in the quartet performed a number of classic works of different periods and styles, some of which were performed for the first time in Armenia.

The ensemble is characterized by its expressive creative style, which is based on an in-depth comprehension of the artistic design featuring the classical compositions. The press has repeatedly noted the high craftsmanship, impeccable taste in art and an enthusiastic reception from the audience.

Repertoire of the piano quartett (ART Klavierquartett)

W.A.Mozart g-moll, K 478

Es-Dur,K 493

L.van Beethoven Es-Dur

D-Dur Wo 036

C-Dur

F.Mendelssohn – Bartholdy c-moll, Op. 1

f-moll, Op. 2

h-moll, Op. 3

R.Schumann Es-Dur, Op.47

J.Brahms g-moll, Op.25

A-Dur, Op.26

c-moll, Op.60

A.Dvorzak D-Dur, Op.23

Es-Dur, Op.87

R.Strauss c-moll, Op.13

G.Mahler a-moll, Satz

M.Reger d-moll, Op.113

In2014, the music world celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss. His work (c- moll, Op.13) was first performed in Armenia by the ART-Klavierquartett. The quartet intends to play in Germany, if financial support from Germany is available.