At the closing session of the League of American Orchestras’ 2024 Conference on June 8, Ahmad Naser Sarmast, founding director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), discussed the role music plays in human rights. Sarmast and ANIM students, faculty, and family members had fled Taliban-occupied Kabul for Lisbon, where they were granted asylum and invited to resettle and rebuild. Photo by Melissa Taylor.
In Sunday’s (6/9) Slipped Disc (U.K.), Susan Hall writes, “The League of American Orchestras held its annual meeting in Houston, Texas from June 6-8. About one thousand representatives of orchestras across the globe attended…. The League provides institutions with help in matters they can’t address themselves. The League provides sophisticated data, federal government lobbying and mentoring…. Events for the entire group included a moving address by composer Gabriela Lena Frank on the importance of telling a story—this applies of course not just to a composer and interpreter, but to CEOs talking to their boards and development officers reaching out to the community. Highest honors were awarded to Lee Koonce [former President and Artistic Director, Gateways Music Festival] … Sandwiched between the big events were often surprising and clearly useful programs available through exhibitors…. A performance of Richard Strauss’ Salome by the Houston Symphony capped the second day…. The determination, grit and passion of the participants hung in the air and buzzed in conversations among colleagues at workshops…. The support of the League under the leadership of Simon Woods in practical matters as well as flights of fancy is clearly appreciated.”
