Syriac Music Institute Aims, Goals and Objectives
The Syriac Music Institute’s mission is to promote the preservation and growth of the ancient Syriac sacred musical tradition, one of the world’s oldest chant traditions, composed in Aramaic—the language spoken by Jesus two thousand years ago. To achieve this, the Institute undertakes innovative educational projects that globalize Syriac music, making it accessible through various media, particularly the Internet, ensuring that students and laypeople can access its resources from any university, classroom, library, or home.
The Institute's main aims, goals, and objectives are as follows:
- To systematically enhance the liturgical and devotional music of the Syriac Orthodox Church.
- To organize training camps at central diocesan and district levels in church music, helping the Orthodox Church preserve and recover its ancient musical heritage.
- To provide courses, seminars, and workshops on Syriac sacred chant.
- To develop the expertise and leadership qualities of choir directors and members, enabling them to organize choirs in their parishes and establish uniformity and standards in the hymnody of the Orthodox Church.
- To facilitate research and scientific study of Syriac, non-Syriac, and Eastern-Western music, along with their historical developments, contributions, and influences.
- To recover and popularize ancient liturgical music and its tunes.
- To produce high-quality audio and video recordings to broaden the appeal of Syriac sacred chant.
- To publish journals, periodicals, and bulletins that encourage the scholarly and scientific study of music, enriching the field.
- To raise funds and resources to support these objectives and to establish a modern recording studio.
- To create a standardized hymnal for Syriac-speaking churches globally, establishing a unified chant system.
- To transcribe, notate, and organize the Beth Gazo (Treasury of Chants), the Shimo (Weekly Office), and other liturgical books using a systematic and academic approach.
- To establish a program of study at American universities to teach the theories and methods of Syriac music.