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WGBH Music: Afghanistan Youth Orchestra visits United States

2,740 views · Published 20 February 2013 · 2:19 · Indexed 6 October 2026

Channel: GBH Music · 2013 · Music

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Led by founder and director Ahmad Sarmast, the first Afghan with a doctorate in music, the group of student musicians (ages 10—21), along with NPR's From the Top alum William Harvey, the Co-Conductor of the ANIM Orchestra and other Afghan faculty members visited WGBH in Boston on February 14, 2013 as part of the ensemble's three-day residency at the New England Conservatory of Music. Marco Werman, host of Public Radio International's, The World, interviewed Dr. Sarmast and one of the young members of the group.

As the New York Times described in a recent feature: "The Institute teaches some 150 young people, about half orphans and street hawkers. ... About 35 of the students are female, important in a country where women face obstacles to education. The young people study both Western and Afghan instruments...and music theory from both cultures. Many of the Western instruments are donated, and the World Bank provides financial support. Tuition is free."

The impact of ANIM, which is seen as a model for future Afghan music schools, can hardly be overestimated. "An effective cultural barometer in the Muslim world," as the Wall Street Journal put it, "music has the potential to move Afghan society away from fundamentalism toward more moderate cultural values."  

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