If Dan Yessian had his way, “An Armenian Trilogy” would be a work with solely a musical legacy and not a higher sociopolitical calling.

But it’s not that way.

Back in 2014, the Farmington Hills-based composer, an award-winning writer in the advertising and commercial music world, was asked by his priest to write a piece commemorating the centennial of the genocide in which Turkish Ottomans killed 1.5 million Armenian families. Yessian, 80, responded with a three-movement, 22-minute duet between piano and violin, which he composed on a piano once owned by the late Burt Bacharach.

“An Armenian Trilogy” premiered in Michigan in 2015. It was performed by the Armenian Philharmonic in 2017 and was the subject of a Detroit Public Television documentary in 2023. And this week — on Wednesday, May 14 — it will be performed again, at Steinway Piano Gallery in Commerce Township as part of a multimedia event benefiting the Children of Armenia Fund.

“I suppose you can say it’s my way of giving back, particularly to youth,” Yessian says. The COAF aids children in rural Armenia through education, health care, social services and economic development programs. The “Armenian Trilogy: Expressions of Love, Hope and Faith” event will specifically support COAF’s music education program.

“This is for kids who reside in rural areas of Armenia who really have not been given a lot of opportunity with music,” Yessian explains. “Our first thoughts are always healthy and hunger and all these other things, but I believe music is an essential part of growth for these kids because it gives them an opportunity to think beyond the norms of what life offers in those places.

“A lot of these kids, they’re put into farming right off the bat. There’s nothing wrong with that, but for those who don’t want to be farmers, this is an alternative for them to get involved with creativity and build a sense of positivity with their abilities. We know the benefits of music; it increases proficiency in math and science and language arts. It builds a positive mental attitude. The kids who are in music seemingly have a better experience in school and seemingly get better grades — so I guess my question is why not music?”

The Expressions of Love, Hope and Faith event will include a performance of the third movement of the Trilogy by Detroit Symphony Orchestra Associate Concertmaster Kimberly Kennedy, accompanied by pianist Chris Plansker, who’s on staff at Yessian’s commercial studio. Singers Kenny Watson, Justin Noroyan and Nancy Ingles will also perform, while former WDIV-TV meteorologist Chuck Gaidica and Pastor Emeritus Father Garabed Kochakian of St. John Armenian Church will speak.

The documentary will also be shown that night.

“I’ve enjoyed this ride with (‘The Trilogy’),” Yessian notes. “From a musical point of view, it’s one of the most important things I have done, compositionally, because it was a challenge as opposed to my life’s work of doing commercial music of 30- and 50-second spots. This took on a whole other meaning for me.

“When I was first asked I thought, ‘Oh my God — this is far beyond anything I could imagine being involved in.’ I went home and started carving out some music, and the more I did, the more I had appreciation for what it was and what I was doing. It was very inspiring. So (the ‘Trilogy’) itself, I think, will remain probably my legacy. We don’t talk about the last Roto-Rooter spot I did or the last car dealer spot. (laughs) But this piece takes on a significance of its own.”

Yessian says he’s often asked if he’s interested in doing more symphonic work. “That still remains a question,” he says. “It depends on a number of things. It’s not an easy thing to pull off, ‘cause it is time-consuming. The ‘Trilogy’ was not something I did in a half an hour, y’know? That work took me over the span of a couple months to do. So to reapproach that with another idea, it’s daunting to me.

“But I can’t say I wouldn’t do it.”

In the meantime, Yessian is happy to keep the “Trilogy” alive and find ways for it to continue its positive purpose. “It’s particularly rewarding knowing that there’s money going to the land of my own heritage from this,” he says. “I’m very happy that it can keep resonating like that.”