College of Music Joel Schut at the Darul Aman palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Schut spent 7 weeks teaching in Afghanistan in spring 2013. Courtesy photo.
From 1992 to 2001, the ruling Taliban prohibited the playing of music and actively destroyed thousands of instruments. An entire generation of Afghans was not allowed to take part in the act of creating music.
Officially, that is.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean that music wasn鈥檛 being played,鈥� says Schut, 27, who graduated from the CU-麻豆影院 College of Music in 2012 with a master鈥檚 degree in orchestral conducting. 鈥淚t was just being done behind closed doors.鈥�
In a nation that has been wracked by war, coups and invasion for the last 40 years 鈥� indeed, for millennia 鈥� the fact that there is a mixed-gender music academy for children in Kabul indicates how swiftly things can change. 鈥淚t was a privilege to be a part of some good news in a country that too often needs it鈥� says Schut who recently returned to the US. 鈥淲hile I went as an educator, I received a deep education through the stories, music, and lives of wonderful students and welcoming people.鈥�
Schut traveled to Afghanistan this summer to fill in for William Harvey, who teaches viola and violin and conducts the Afghan Youth Orchestra, while he took a short sabbatical. The orchestra performs original arrangements that fuse Western and traditional Afghan music, playing everything from violins and piano to the sitar and rubab. 鈥淎s a conductor, educator, and violinist, it was incredible to be a part of pedagogy and music in a different environment.鈥�
Schut joined 2007 College of Music graduate and Colorado native , who teaches piano and oboe as a member of the faculty. (Boggess was traveling to South Korea with the school鈥檚 traditional music ensemble and institute founder Dr. Ahmad Sarmast and was unable to comment for this story.)
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was founded by Dr. Ahmad after the U.S. routed the Taliban from power in 2001. The son of a prominent national musician, Sarmast fled to Australia during this period and earned a degree in Ethnomusicology. Upon returning to Afghanistan he ensured that at least half the ANIM students come from the Afghan countryside in partnership with the AFCECO orphanage. "We want to use music as a source for social changes and a source for building bridges between Afghanistan and our friends outside of Afghanistan," in January at the outset of a U.S. tour.听
鈥淎NIM is truly an incredible place doing amazing work in the lives of students鈥� Schut says though there were constant reminders, both subtle and violent, of Afghanistan鈥檚 troubled political situation during his time in the country. On his first week on the job a car bomb exploded within hearing range of the school in an assassination attempt on the vice president. 鈥淭his is never a normal experience for anyone. It affects students, staff, faculty, neighbors, natives, and expats all the same鈥� he says.
鈥淲hile music is so important in Afghanistan, unfortunately it is also controversial,鈥� Schut says.
Given powerful conservative political forces in the country that view teaching music 鈥� not to mention mixed-gender schools 鈥� as just another Western attempt at influence, this spring鈥檚 election could have a lasting impact on the institute, which is under the national Department of Education听
鈥淲hile ANIM can be a point of national controversy, it is imperative that more people know about this important institution鈥檚 success to keep it financially and pedagogically supported as an important cultural landmark for the country, its children, and its future鈥� Schut says.
While there are many challenges, Schut feels optimistic, knowing the school is blossoming with the aid of strong leadership, faculty, national demographics and technology. Youths 14 or younger make up 42 percent of the population, while half Afghanistan鈥檚 adults are younger than 30, according to the U.N. Population Division.
鈥淭his younger generation is inherently different. It鈥檚 used to cell phones, the Internet, and YouTube. They just know more about the world around them,鈥� Schut says. 鈥淎nd what really struck me is that students are the same everywhere. The same things get them excited and motivated through the relationships you build with them."
