Photo credit: Courtesy of ImageNet
American University’s Initiative for Russian Culture, along with the Brubeck Institute and the Open World Leadership Center, hosted a fabulous and unique evening focused on jazz diplomacy between Russia and the U.S.
Originally slated to take place at the Library of Congress, the event was moved at the last minute to the National Building Museum as another casualty of the government shut down.
More than 400 university students from AU and around the city, along with hundreds of VIP’s, were treated to a high energy concert by the first ever U.S. Russia Rising Stars Jazz band – a group of young musicians that rocked the house.
Russian Jazz Great Igor Butman took the stage to jam with them – much to the audience’s delight.
The Building Museum was transformed into a world-wide jazz club, with food reminiscent of the great clubs from New Orleans, Moscow, New York City and Chicago. A gigantic globe in the center of the room reflected photos and jazz clips from both countries.
Said IRC Advisory Board Chair Susan C. Lehrman, “The AU’s IRC was established with the fundamental belief that the greatest tool for understanding people and reaching their hearts and minds is through their culture. Tonight’s event, focused on the cultural bond that we share with Russia through jazz, was an important step forward towards our goal of greater cultural understanding between our two nations.”
Added Ambassador Kislyak of the Russian Federation, “The Initiative for Russian Culture is something that can not only generate more interest but also more understanding of Russia by American students, and I wish we had more of these programs both here in the United States and in Russia as well.”
