Eritrea: Asmara Music School graduates 26 students

According to the school director, Elias Woldegebriel, the course covered basic music theory, the history and development of music, an introduction to voice and music synchronisation, as well as training on seven modern and four traditional musical instruments.

During the graduation ceremony held over the weekend, Woldegebriel called on other institutions to partner with them to strengthen their contribution to the development of music in Eritrea, saying this will help Asmara Music School reach out to and admit more interested students.

The country’s director general of technical and vocational training, Tesfay Seium, meanwhile, called on the graduates to play a due part in the development of the arts and cultural sector in the country, saying the government has substantially invested in their training.

On their part, the trainees expressed their readiness to contribute to the development of music in the country. A representative of the graduates thanked the government for providing them with an ideal environment to sharpen their musical skills.

Asmara Music School is Eritrea’s oldest formal music training institution. It was founded in the late 1980s with its initial students being recruited from The Revolutionary School. The school is run under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Education.

It has close to 30 teachers and offers a two-year certificate and four-year diploma programmes, with training in various domains of music, including music history, music technology, group music performance, and traditional music instruments, among others.

The school also provides two years of training to the national military marching band in various musical instruments.