Istanbul’s Bosphorus University will tonight host the Armenian-Turkish Youth Symphony Orchestra, consisting of 56 young musicians from Turkey and Armenia, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The concert will be conducted by the Akbank Chamber Orchestra’s conductor Cem Mansur, with pianist Ashot Khachatourian on stage as the soloist.

Young people from Armenia and Turkey first came together to form an orchestra in July 2010, with the support of Bosphorus University and the Turkish non-governmental organization Anadolu Kultur. Cem Mansur and Nvart Andreasyan were the brains behind the orchestra, and through it aim to contribute to peace between the two countries.

The orchestra performed three successful cztuoncerts at the Bosphorus University, Buyukada Island and Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall in its first year.

The orchestra, which has reunited upon the invitation of the Young Euro Classic Festival, will also take the stage on Aug. 3 in Berlin, one of Europe’s most lively cultural cities. Two concerts in Istanbul and Berlin are being organized with support from theGerman and Turkish foreign ministries, the Enka Cultural Foundation, Tower Tourism and Fineco. Armenian conductor Andreasyan discussed the orchestra in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News in 2010.

“Our plan means gathering young people in an environment where there is no chance to lose. The environment is international and it is based in music,” she said.

Mansur said their aim was for the young musicians to become friends. He took part in a similar project in 2008 and 2009 in South Africa, adding, “In South Africa I conducted an orchestra with youth of different races and saw the power of music. Before the project those young people in South Africa hated each other because of the misunderstandings that their races had gone through. By the end of our project, those young people hugged each other. Through the power of music, hatred left and in its place came love.”