Stories about classical music in unlikely places are among the most heart-warming on the news scene today, and it seems that, from Haiti to Kinshasa and all points in between, classical music is popping up all over as a way of bringing people together. One of the most unexpected and extraordinary examples of the universal and intrinsically human nature of music is found in the heart of what is undoubtedly one of the most war-ravaged and unstable countries in the world: Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is, of course, no stranger to global news headlines, and as a result, the general understanding of the nation is one that focuses on its turbulent political and military situation and its prominent role in current events. The militant Islamic influence in Afghanistan has radically altered the face of the country, and the nation now finds itself in unstable waters, caught between rising and ebbing tides of Taliban-influenced social change. With so much of global importance happening in Afghanistan today, it almost defies the imagination of the observer to come up with anything about the nation that is not related to war, religious conflict, and sociopolitical events.
While the world’s attention is thoroughly fixed on the geopolitical ramifications of activity in Afghanistan, the people of Afghanistan are focused on bigger, more beautiful dreams. Here, in the unlikeliest of places, grows a music school that is giving the youth of a hard nation hope for a better future. This school is the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and it is making a resurgence with the fall of the Taliban, under whose rule the playing of instruments was banned as a manifestation of a strict, conservative interpretation of Muslim law. The school is located in the Afghan capitol of Kabul, and it has been operating out of its current home for nearly two years. Somewhat surprisingly for a school located in a site of such international conflict, the National Institute is a gem of international cooperation, drawing on funds from Britain, Germany, and Denmark and employing many teachers of American and Russian extraction.
Given the state of the nation, it follows that most of the students at the school come from the very small minority that is the class of economic and social elite, but the school’s director, Ahmad Sarmast, ensures that children working on the streets of Kabul are also welcomed and given an education that extends past music and into the realms of arts and sciences. Much of the curriculum focuses on self-expression, something that was heavily suppressed during the Taliban regime. While the Taliban is certainly not gone for good–and while there is much speculation as to its return–the activity in the school remains strong. One student, 14-year-old Sayed Elham, practices five hours a day, fueled by dreams of becoming the first internationally renowned concert pianist from Afghanistan. The practice is paying off: according to Sarmast, “We had a Russian pianist here who left behind her music and within three months Elham had learned to play what usually takes three years.”
The school’s students certainly seem talented, and they are fueled to even greater heights by the rare and precious opportunity that music presents them with. The as-yet-undeveloped art, music, and film scene in Afghanistan are just getting underway, and the students at the school seem to realize that it is this generation that can truly forge ahead and create something from nothing. Sarmast has high hopes for his school and for his country, and he is thinking far past the arbitrary borders of national allegiance as dictated by war and international conflict. Sarmast trained in Moscow and spent time in Australia before returning to Afghanistan in 2008, and he is using his experience to create a vision of a growing, thriving Afghan musical scene. He wants to take the youth orchestra–the school’s 14o-player ensemble–to perform at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center next year, and he is also determined to build a professional symphony orchestra to international standards–from scratch. “It’s going to send a clear message to the international community that there have been a lot of changes and hopes for this nation,” he says, “Hope has not died in Afghanistan and the inspiration is there, dedication is there and people are working. This is a positive change in the 10 years.”
In looking at some of the schools’ students, Sarmast’s school delivers the positive change of which he speaks. Another 14-year-old student at the school, a girl named Fakria, was discovered two years ago living in a shelter for homeless children. Like many Afghans of humble status, she goes by one name only, rather than by a given and family name. Sarmast admitted her to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and the school awarded her a stipend of $25 per month for her family, along with a full scholarship for clothes, food, and, most importantly to her, her cello. She says, “I love the cello and I hope that I become a really successful player and work for my country….If I do well I can go to other countries and play something and learn something and share some music.” When she and her classmates finally achieve their dreams, the classical music community will be waiting to welcome them with open arms onto the international stage.
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