Bringing Music to the War Zone in Iraq -- Cultural Diplomacy is Embodied by the Remarkable Efforts of "American Voices"

Summer Performing Arts Academy to Provide a Creative Haven for Young Iraqi Talent; Free Educational Curriculum Set for July

The first project of its kind in the history of Iraq

Young Iraqi artists will soon have an opportunity to shine their talents through the fog of war, as American Voices brings an extraordinary, free program of music, dance and theater to Northern Iraq this July. The Iraq Summer Performing and Visual Arts Academy--the first project of its kind in the history of Iraq--will deliver an American educational experience to over 200 of the country's aspiring performers.

In a region challenged by conflict, these days of creative expression aim to provide an oasis of calm. American Voices' ambitious program will literally transport a faculty of professional Arts educators from the U.S. and Europe Northern Iraq for in-depth instruction in Jazz, Classical, Chamber music and more. Dance studies will include Ballet, Jazz and Hip Hop, while Theater sessions will incorporate selections from popular Broadway shows. The Summer Arts Academy will culminate in a landmark series of gala concerts, open to the public.

American Voices is a Houston, Texas-based not-for-profit company, created in 1993 by Executive Director John Ferguson. Nearly every international Arts program Ferguson has initiated in the years since has been precedent setting. The original mission of American Voices was to provide quality American cultural programming to the newly open societies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Since then, American Voices' geographic range has grown to encompass eighteen time zones from Peru to the Philippines, with artists performing concerts, workshops and master classes (as well as interactive performance projects) to over 200,000 audience members in 79 countries on five continents. Millions more have been reached through live television and radio broadcasts across the globe.

In February of 2007, Ferguson brought American Voices into the heart of Baghdad for a historic concert held at the Al Rasheed Hotel and sponsored by the U.S. Embassy. The unlikely music and dance program was greeted by a standing ovation from the mostly Iraqi audience. Featuring Vocalist and Dancer Michael Parks Masterson and Ferguson on piano, the concert culminated in a joint performance with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra performing a jazz and Broadway repertoire for the first time in its history. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes made an appearance at the concert as well. In fact, the warm response to the Baghdad event inspired Ferguson's development of the upcoming Summer Arts Academy in Northern Iraq. (Please visit YouTube for a view of the orchestra performing Duke Ellington repertoire as introduced to Iraq by American Voices)

The Summer Arts Academy project will be a joint effort of American Voices, the U.S. Embassy, The Ministries of Culture of both Iraq and the Kurdish Autonomous Region, The Baghdad School of Music and Dance, The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, The Symphony Orchestras of Erbil and Suleimanya, National Folk Dancers of Iraq and the Institutes Fine Arts in Northern Iraq, Suleimanya, Dohuk and Kirkuk. The Ministry of Culture in Northern Iraq will provide assistance in the form of teaching and gala concert venues, security and local transportation for students and faculty.

THE FACULTY:

A tentative list of Summer Arts Academy Faculty includes:

David Handel, Conductor, National Orchestra of Bolivia and Uncuyo Orchestra of Mendoza, Argentina

Demetrius Fuller, Conductor, Florida

Michael Parks Masterson, Dancer, Choreographer, Singer and Actor and veteran of Broadway productions such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera

Brian Jones, Ballet and Hip Hop Dance styles, veteran of Dallas Ballet

Gene Aitken, Jazz and Brass Specialist, IAJE Educators Hall of Fame

Werner Englert, Jazz Saxophonist / Woodwinds / Brass specialist - Freiburg, Germany

John Ferguson, Pianist and Executive Director, American Voices

Healy Henderson, Violinist and Concertmaster of San Diego Chamber Orchestra

Carole McCann, Youth Theater Specialist, Theater Under The Stars (TUTS) - Houston, Texas

The subjects to be taught at the Summer Arts Academy will include:

MUSIC:

Orchestra training sessions for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra and orchestras of Erbil and Suleimanya
Classical music training for pianists, vocalists, choir and wind, string and brass instruments through private lessons and chamber music sessions
Jazz Big Band - All Iraq All Stars band
Jazz Bridges Iraq - jazz fusion with Iraqi traditional music and dance
Introduction to Jazz program for beginners

DANCE:

Ballet
Hip Hop / Break Dance, Jazz and other popular dance styles

THEATER:

Preparation of selections from popular Broadway and Musical Theater shows
Youth theater project for students aged 12 to 18

GALA CONCERTS: The Academy will offer three gala concerts to Northern Iraq's concert-going public in July.

Faculty Gala Recital
Jazz, Broadway and Dance evening
Unity Orchestral Gala featuring all three of Iraq's national orchestras united on one stage.

GENERAL: The low student-to-teacher ratio will result in a high level of personal attention for each participant. At the end of the nine-day program, students will have improved their music or dance skills, learned new musical genres and will have been exposed to positive concepts such as teamwork, respect for differences and collaboration across national and ethnic groups. In addition to its work with young people, the Academy will train members of the Kurdish and Iraq Orchestras through intensive rehearsals with the faculty conductor and woodwind/brass and string instrument specialists. The academy will conclude with a gala invitational performance featuring Iraqi ensembles, faculty artists and highlights from student performances. AIMS OF THE SUMMER ARTS ACADEMY:

To offer free, intensive, highest quality study opportunities to young Iraqi musicians and dancers at all levels of advancement.
To make access to these courses available to those who cannot otherwise afford such summer study courses abroad through the availability of scholarships to cover travel, accommodation and tuition costs.
Promote inclusive values including respect for differences and teamwork.
Create positive interaction with American citizens in an educational environment.

More details about the American Voices Summer Performing Arts Academy in Northern Iraq will be announced in the weeks ahead.

American Voices is a not-for-profit organization with incorporation in both the United States and the European Union (The Netherlands). All sponsorship donations are tax deductible under US and EU law. Visit www.AmericanVoices.org. For more information about American Voices and The Summer Performing Arts and Language Academy in Northern Iraq, or to schedule an interview with Executive Director John Ferguson, please contact SethCohenPR@earthlink.net.

AMERICAN VOICES - BACKGROUND MISSION: The mission, vision, and values of American Voices OUR MISSION: The mission of American Voices is to further the accessibility and the understanding of American music and culture, especially in developing countries or those lacking opportunities for cultural exchange and dialogue with the United States. OUR VISION: We envision:

A world with free access and exposure to American music
Free access to music education focusing on American music including jazz, classical, and Broadway musical traditions.

OUR VALUES:

To provide quality programming
To strive for artistic integrity in all areas of programming
To create programs that promote cultural diversity and enrichment
Ethics, trust, and fiscal responsibility using sound business practices
Diversity among those who work with us and the areas that we reach out to.

OBJECTIVES: Throughout all endeavors of American Voices, there are some overall goals that we follow:

To present the culture of the United States in a positive light
To reach previously isolated areas of the world through cultural diplomacy
To bring awareness of the cultural interaction of various ethnic immigrant groups in American music
To represent the cultural diversity of the American Experience
To promote young American talents through international performances
To provide American cultural programming, advice and planning assistance of the highest quality.

HISTORY: A brief history of American Voices

American Voices is one of America's great cultural institutions although most of our work is seen outside of the United States in concerts presented around the world for more than twelve years. The organization was founded by Executive Director John Ferguson and incorporated as a not-for-profit in The Netherlands in 1993. The original mission of American Voices was to provide quality American cultural programming to the newly open societies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Since then, American Voices' geographic range has grown to encompass eighteen time zones from Peru to the Philippines and as our artists have performed concerts, workshops and master classes as well as interactive performance projects to over 200,000 audience members in 79 countries on five continents and reached millions more through live television and radio broadcasts across the globe.

With an emphasis on reaching countries in the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Central Asia, the organization has been responsible for many firsts in presenting American music globally. Some of these include bringing the first ever Broadway programs to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Moldova and Kosovo, the first international jazz festivals ever to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, the first performances by American Hip Hop artists to Vietnam and Azerbaijan, the first youth jazz education projects to Azerbaijan and Taiwan, and the first American performers ever to cities such as Aktau, Karaganda and Semey in Kazakhstan, Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The artists of American Voices have performed with major symphony orchestras in countries around the world including Russia (Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, Germany, Malta, El Salvador, Bolivia and Argentina. They have also performed at major world venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Theatre de la Ville in Paris, National Museum in Tokyo, National Concert Hall in Taipei, The Capelle in St. Petersburg, and Kunst und Ausstellungshalle in Bonn. They have provided artistic advice and concert programs to festivals in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. They have taught masterclasses and presented special projects and seminars at prestigious conservatories and universities around the world including the Hochschule fuer Music in Leipzig, the Moscow Conservatory, and the Music Academies of Kiev.

In addition to performances and educational programs, American Voices is also proud to have made 43 donations of American music scores to Conservatories, Municipal and National libraries around the world.

American Voices has issued three CDs: American Voices Around the World (2004), Jazz Bridges Burma (2003), and Caspian Jazz and Blues Festival Highlights (2002), with two more disks planned for 2005: Jazz Bridges Afghanistan and Jazz Mugham Azerbaijan. American Voices artists have recorded with major labels such as Deutsche Grammophone (Kurt Ollmann with Leonard Bernstein), Harmonia Mundi (Teresa Seidl with Sir Yehudi Menuhin) and EPM (John Ferguson). They have presented headline artists Toots Thielemans, Maynard Ferguson and Jack de Johnette at festivals in Azerbaijan and Taiwan.

Based in Houston, Texas since September 2004, American Voices' projects are funded by a diversity of sources ranging from corporate sponsorship in the countries where they are active to international and American foundations. American Voices is also supported by American Embassies and Consulates worldwide.

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY: The role of American Voices in spreading American culture around the world American Voices was founded in response to new opportunities for cultural dialogue between the United States and the newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Since then, American Voices has evolved into the only American musical organization committed to interactive performances and education in the Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries currently so prominent in world affairs: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, and Kuwait among many others.

As the founder of the only international jazz festivals in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, American Voices has endeared itself to local audiences through three years of free concerts and workshops featuring prominent headline artists including Toots Thielemans and Maynard Ferguson. As the presenter of the first Broadway performances in Uzbekistan and the first U.S. Hip Hop performers in Vietnam, American Voices has shown its commitment to more open societies and cultural life by highlighting local young talent in our performances.

American Voices has brought hope and inspiration to local students, musicians and audiences thirsting for such contact and educational opportunities with prominent international artists. STATISTICS: Ground-breaking statistics of a dynamic organization American Voices initiated:

The first American Hip Hop group, HaviKoro, to visit Azerbaijan and Vietnam
The first Broadway performances ever in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Vietnam
The first international jazz festivals in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan
The first summer jazz academy in Taiwan
The only American musical organization bringing quality American cultural programs to international audiences with a focus on interactive projects in Central Asia and the Middle East
Music Score Donations: American Voices has donated over 75 music score collections to conservatories and libraries around the world

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