Music Helps Revive Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage

Posted by Candace Faber / January 18, 2012

Musicians perform at the Afghan National Institute of Music in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 2012. [U.S. Embassy photo/ Public Domain]

Razor wire pierces the orange sky as we drive through Kabul's haze and rush hour traffic to the Afghan National Institute of Music (ANIM). For the second year in a row, ANIM is hosting famed Afghan and international musicians for its "Winter Music Academy," an opportunity for the students to work with master teachers. Tonight, the wide community of ANIM's supporters -- including representatives from the U.S. Embassy's Public Affairs Section, which funds both the winter academy and ongoing Access English micro-scholarships -- has the delight of hearing these masters in concert. In the front row are representatives from the World Bank, and after the first song -- Henri Duparc's "L'invitation au voyage," sung by Kabul-born artist Mashal Arman -- one whispers to another, "You are in Kabul, not Paris. Kabul! Can you believe it?"

I can believe it, and not only because… more »

Posted under: South and Central Asia

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