Gitameit Music Center

Gitameit Music Center is a non-profit community center and music school in downtown Yangon devoted to music teaching and nurturing, performing, offering exchange possibilities for Myanmar students to study abroad, and inviting international artists and teachers for performances and workshops in Yangon.

In Pali and Burmese “gita” means music, and “meit” means friendship. Gitameit Music Center was started in 2003 by pianist Kit Young and colleagues from Myanmar in order to build a supportive community of musicians and audiences locally, and to encourage sustained, meaningful contact with international institutions, teachers and performers.

Musical offerings at Gitameit are wholistic. That is, the programmes and projects incorporate study of western music genres (classical, jazz, rock, pop, contemporary art music), Burmese traditional and folk music, and a programme of listening to and learning about music genres from all over the world. In addition, musicians are encouraged to learn about other art forms – poetry, theatre, literature, and plastic arts – to further extend the possibilities of their imagination. Gitameit also arranges concerts during the year by faculty, students, local artists and visiting performers which are open to the community. They also have outreach activities.