Music and politics in Ethiopia have been closely intertwined throughout history of Ethiopia. Pre-1930 government and music Between 1917 and 1930, Ethiopia was focused on using a national army to centralize power. To do so, they called on European aid, which led to a wave of mass education and the establishment of European institutions across the country. At the same time, a lot of Ethiopians were sent to study abroad in countries such as France and Great Britain, resulting in significant European influence on modern musical development of Ethiopia. Performing music on stage, the use of the theater for dramatic music productions, and the establishment of dance, marching bands, and music conservatories were among the European ideas adopted by Ethiopian musicians. Within the same period, music began to have an important role in Ethiopia's military. In 1923, Kevork Nalbandian, an Armenian, organized the first military marching band. Bands later became very popular across the country, and many of Ethiopia's earliest music groups such as orchestras, symphonies, and chamber groups were organized by military institutions. Music and nationalism Emperor Haile Selassie During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, music was nurtured through media broadcasting, government-sponsored theaters, and the Yared School of Music at Addis Ababa University. The Ethiopian Patriotic Association, which was established by the Ministry of Information and Propaganda, sought to promote Ethiopian culture by highlighting the contributions of Ethiopian leaders. They created the yebahil orchestra, which combined traditional ideas and cultures to produce Western-influenced music. The orchestra normalized indigenous instruments from central and northern Ethiopia playing together on the stage. The Orchestra Ethiopia, made up of musicians from varied ethnic backgrounds, performed songs from several cultural groups including the Amhara, Oromo, and the Welayta. Music combining Western and local cultures continued to spread across Ethiopia. In 1960, a strong national movement originated in the fine arts community and began to spread across Ethiopia. Organizers felt that their national identity was being threatened by the growing influence of western traditions, which led to the establishment of organizations that focused solely on preserving Ethiopian heritage across the country. After the 1974 revolution, the new government organized local performing groups in neighborhoods and regions throughout the nation in order to promote their political agenda. The groups were known as the kinet, and their purpose was to cultivate nationalist sentiment by combining Ethiopian cultural music with the ideas of Marxism–Leninism. The kinet is