Noted Philanthropist Edward Avedisian Dies

“Mr. Ed Avedisian was a humble man with a very generous heart and an immense love for Armenia and Armenian heritage. His legacy will remain alive for all of us and especially the generations of students at the Avedisian School in Yerevan. Truly, this is a big loss for the Armenian nation, but we hope that his life will be an example for others to follow.” reflects AMAA Board of Directors President Dr. Nazareth Darakjian.

The son of Armenian Genocide survivors, Edward Avedisian was born in 1937 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He grew up in an immigrant neighborhood where he attended public school and served as president of his graduating class. He furthered his education on a scholarship to Boston University where he earned his BM and MM degrees.

Avedisian’s professional career spanned four disciplines: a performing symphonic musician, a university professor, an arts administrator, a consummate investor, and philanthropist.

For 35 years Avedisian was a member of the Boston Pops and 43 seasons with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, as a clarinetist. He has also appeared outside the United States as soloist with the Armenian State Philharmonic, the Armenian Radio and TV Orchestra, and the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia. He was also a visiting artist to Boston’s sister city of Hangzhou, China.

In 1998 Edward and Pamela Avedisian founded the Avedisian School in the Malatia-Sepastia district of Yerevan, operated by the AMAA, as a tuition-free Kindergarten for students from economically disadvantaged families. The current K-12 grade school building, which was officially opened on September 1, 2014, is the first building in the Republic of Armenia to achieve a Silver LEED Certification and also awarded the LEED Earth Designation. The School was the dream of Mr. Avedisian to honor his Genocide survivor parents, Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian, who had placed an extremely high value on education throughout their lives.  It is a living legacy to educate the next generations in an environment which fosters the love of learning through love, respect, service, integrity and diligence.

His philanthropy was vast and deep rooted, as it served countries located on both sides of the Atlantic. His many contributions to Armenia include philanthropic investments to the American University of Armenia, the Tsitsernakabert Genocide Memorial and the Nork Marash Children’s Cardiac Hospital, as well as the complete renovation of a school in the Haghtanag Village.