Three American music teachers, Peter Thoresen, Derek Beckvold and Avery Waite, visited Ashgabat March 7–14, 2016 to conduct a professional and cultural exchange program with the National Conservatory of Turkmenistan. The teachers held workshops for students and teachers of various departments, including the classical music, vocals, composition, and conducting departments. The American teachers also held a series of masterclasses on classical American repertoire and the National Conservatory’s curriculum for the program participants.
In addition to continuing their work with the National Conservatory, on Tuesday, March 8, the American music teachers conducted a live, hour-long online chat with the U.S. Embassy’s followers on the Line mobile chat application. That same day, the teachers gave a public presentation at the Embassy’s Information Resource Center about new trends in American music.
This program seeks to build on past successful collaboration between students and faculty of the National Conservatory and the American teachers, which took place December 13–19, 2015. During their first visit to Turkmenistan, Mr. Beckvold and Mr. Waite worked directly with National Conservatory musicians to give a joint concert at the Magtymguly Theater. They will return for a third program and concert during the holiday season.
For more information about this program, please contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat at 47-35-06 (1) or e-mail irc-ashgabat@state.gov.
