Education is the soul and pride of the NYAO. From rigorous training of its members and university residencies, to workshops for inner city schools and cultural institutes, the NYAO has forged Arabic music education for adults and youth alike, of all levels, for thousands of students throughout the tri-state area and around the world. Members of the NYAO were as engaged in performance as they were in education, from working with youth throughout Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Connect to participating in special residencies in the Middle East for refugee youth.
The organization has held special lectures at numerous American universities including Berklee College of Music, Oberlin College, Bucknell University and Carleton College, and countless workshops at cultural institutions such as the French Institute of New York, Center for Arabic Culture (CAC) in Boston and the Arab American Museum (ACCESS) in Dearborn, Michigan.