With the recent launching of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, music icon and former US Jazz Ambassador and Music Director Quincy Jones is the first recipient of the inaugural Peace Through Music Award.

Blinken and Recording Academy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harvey Mason, Jr. awarded Jones the first-ever Peace through Music Award, a collaboration between the State Department and the Recording Academy. It recognises and honours an American music industry professional, artiste, or group that has played “an invaluable role in cross-cultural exchanges and whose music work advances peace and mutual understanding globally.

The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative is a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic tool to promote peace and democracy, and support the United States’ broader foreign policy goals. The initiative aims to leverage public-private partnerships to create a music ecosystem that expands economic equity and the creative economy, ensures societal opportunity and inclusion, and increases access to education.

The US secretary of state also announced the American Music Mentorship Program, the Fulbright-Kennedy Center Visiting Scholar Award in Arts and Science and Boosting English-Language Learning Through Music, which are all a part of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative.

The American Music Mentorship Program

The American Music Mentorship Program, a partnership between the US Department of State and the Recording Academy, will bring international mid-career music industry professionals, which may include musical artistes, to the United States for mentorship and networking opportunities, with an aim to cultivate a professional music industry ecosystem locally and globally, to support creative talent, and to strengthen the creative economy globally.

It will leverage the networks and experience of Recording Academy professionals and members to provide international participants mentorship opportunities, boost their technical skills, and build the foundation for professional networks. The first American Music Mentorship Program will be held in the fall 2024.

Fulbright-Kennedy Center Visiting Scholar Award in Arts and Science

The Fulbright Program, the United States’ flagship international academic exchange program, will collaborate with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to create a new fellowship opportunity for foreign scholars.

The new Fulbright-Kennedy Center Visiting Scholar Award in Arts and Science will focus on the intersections of the arts (music, dance, theater, etc.) and science, including how the arts can contribute to individual and global health and well-being, and the environment. An award competition will be announced in fall 2023, and the Kennedy Center will host the first scholar in academic year 2024-25.

Boosting English-Language Learning Through Music

Recognising the strategic importance of English-language learning overseas, especially for youth and underserved communities, the State Department will incorporate music into its existing US$40 million investment in English-language learning worldwide, including through exchanges, curriculum, and scholarships to provide access to English-learning classes for promising students between the ages of 13 and 20.

In addition to Blinken’s announcements, the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative will include vast programming around the world. It includes Arts Envoys to Travel to the Middle East, People’s Republic of China; and the Herbie Hancock, along with Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Ensemble at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA).

Several activities planned

The latter will be performing in Jordan in October to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1963 Jazz Ambassador tour of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The Herbie Hancock tour will then travel to Saudi Arabia for a four-day Arts Envoy programme – the first of its kind between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

From Nov. 9 – 18, 2023, The Philadelphia Orchestra is slated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its historic 1973 tour of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with Ensemble Performances and Residency Activities in multiple cities in the PRC.

The State Department said 10 American bands will travel to 30 countries starting in October through American Music Abroad. Birckhead, The Beatbox House, The Invisibles, Marielle Kraft, Matthew Whitaker, Pipeline Vocal Project, Raining Jane, Sihasin, Sub-Radio, and Tap Music Project will travel to 30 countries from October 2023 through June 2024.

In November 2023, the State Department said the 2023 American Music Abroad Academy Cleveland will bring together young professional musicians from the Ukrainian Diaspora and around the world for collaboration and mentorship opportunities from American instructors with a focus on cultural preservation through music.

From Nov. 6 – 20, 2023, the State Department said musicians from Ghana and Nigeria will come together to collaboratively create and discuss how music can bring people together through social entrepreneurship projects, as part of the OneBeat programme. Virtually connecting more than 60 international students from every continent through music, the Harmundi Summit will provide intense music training, cross-cultural collaboration, studio recording, and live performances under the mentorship of world-class musicians and producers.

The summit, which will take place Nov. 3 – 5, 2023, will be led by alumni of the department’s exchanges, and is part of the department’s Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund. The State Department said this fund provides grants of up to US$10,000 for public service projects that utilise the skills, knowledge, and networks exchange alumni gained through their exchange experiences.