Egypt and Tunisia project starts Monday

Sunday night, I take a 2.5-week vacation from my job as Violin and Viola Teacher at Afghanistan National Institute of Music to lead Cultures in Harmony's project, "Connecting Cultures through Counterpoint," in Egypt and Tunisia.

In Egypt, CiH will partner with the extraordinary NGO Bridge to put together a music festival called Musical Koshary in which we will create and then perform music in collaboration with Egyptian musicians. In Tunisia, we will partner with the fantastic Atlas Music Academy to teach young musicians and initiate a "musical caravan," which will be a tour of villages in which we will present community engagement concerts alongside our Tunisian musical partners in an affirmation of music's central role in social change.

I will be joined in Egypt by pianist Kimball Gallagher, CiH's Deputy Director; flutist Allie Deaver-Petchenik, who will blog about her experiences here; and violist Kayleigh Miller. In Tunisia, soprano Tiffany DuMouchelle and cellist Patrick McGuire will join the four of us. "Connecting Cultures through Counterpoint," which will also see CiH head to Pakistan in August, is underwritten by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and by the Embassy of the USA in Tunisia.

I will blog as frequently as I can about our work, so please check in as often as you can!