Afghan Youth Orchestra plays for peaceful future

When the members of the Afghan Youth Orchestra take to the stage at the Royal Opera House Muscat on Saturday afternoon, they won’t simply be musicians, but ambassadors of peace who highlight the culture and potential of a war-torn country.

In 2008 Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, an Afghan musician who believes music is a human right and a way to heal the wounds of war, started the initiative to teach Afghan children music and keep traditional music alive. Two years later, in 2010, 100 boys and girls, half of them orphans and other underprivileged kids who would otherwise be struggling to survive on the streets selling chewing gum or plastic bags, picked up instruments for the first time and the Afghan Youth Orchestra (AYO) was born.

“I strongly believe that music is a very basic human right. Every child and youth should have the right to express themselves through music and have access to music education. Music is also part of the national identity, and it’s an important part of developing a child,” Sarmast told Times of Oman as the musicians began to rehearse on Wednesday afternoon.

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Afghan Youth Orchestra plays for peaceful future