The treasure that is our Ameriga-Hye music

Editor’s note: This article appeared in the Armenian Weekly’s June 2026 magazine, “Reclaiming Home and Heritage,” which explores how the Armenian community maintains its heritage and culture following genocide and displacement. The issue was edited by Weekly magazine editor Pauline Getzoyan.

Large numbers of Armenians began arriving in the United States in the late 1890s, with additional waves of immigration during and after the 1915 Armenian Genocide, when the Ottoman Empire carried out its systematic deportations and massacres of the Armenian population. America was seen as the land of opportunity and freedom, and Armenians established communities across the country, creating a vibrant and enduring presence that has flourished for nearly 150 years. We have built churches, schools and community centers, as well as a wide range of political, youth, athletic, religious and cultural organizations that continue to thrive today. We have strived to maintain our cultural heritage and, in the widely recognized words of William Saroyan’s famous quote, to “create a new Armenia.” Not surprisingly, that “new Armenia” is a distinctively American Armenian one.